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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26554555">Home is a Person</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbn42/pseuds/jbn42'>jbn42</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001), The Mummy Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ardeth needs a hug, Because they’ve really had enough of the nonsense, Destiny, Egypt, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Girls With Swords, Medjai - Freeform, Misogyny, Mummies, Pre-Canon, Romance, meddling relatives</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:00:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>32,080</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26554555</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbn42/pseuds/jbn42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ardeth Bay has been alone a long time, and Layla Easton has too. Friends, colleagues, Mummies, treasure hunters, and a very nosy aunt seem to keep bothering them and getting in the way of things.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ardeth Bay/Original Character(s), Ardeth Bay/Original Female Character(s), Evy Carnahan O'Connell/Rick O'Connell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Memories of Emerald Eyes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Author’s Note: My longest Author’s Note ever, I think – I’ll say it now – I’ve never written for this fandom, but I’ve loved the character Ardeth since the first movie, which came out when I was in my late 20s (yes, I’m old! OK, middle-aged, but my knees agree that I’m old). I’m also insanely busy with my daughter’s virtual school, my full-time work from home job, part-time graduate school, and other commitments I’m probably forgetting about. I also have a few open WIPs for Star Wars.</p><p>But the world sucks right now, and I was re-watching the first movie and then the second, and I want something to think about that takes me away from it. Updates won’t be regular or frequent (well, they may come out faster at first and then slow down).</p><p>And yes, there’s a “Mary Sue,” because Ardeth deserves to have more to do than glower attractively while killing bad guys. There’s a lot of set up here – it won’t necessarily follow some of the more typical Ardeth/OCs, because I will not track the first movie much, though the second one will come into play a lot more.</p><p>Fair warning – this chapter is largely the OCs. But Ardeth and Evy both appear. From here on out there will be more of the usual suspects, but this is the set up for the OC, who I want to actually have some personality and depth.</p><p>Disclaimer per usual – I do not own The Mummy; just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <em>The University of Oxford, England, September 1922</em>
</p><p>“Miss Carnahan, do you have a moment?” Layla Gamal Easton rushes across the courtyard outside the school of Archeology, the humidity brought on by cool fall rain earlier in the day making her long, curly black hair fall from its loose bun in near ringlet curls around her olive-toned face.</p><p>The woman she is chasing is one of the only other women she’s encountered studying archeology, and Layla wants to talk to her. She has heard stories about Evelyn Carnahan for a couple of years now, the young woman as obsessed with Egypt at Layla herself is. She also knows they both have a similar background in some ways, the least of which being that they both had Egyptian mothers, and they also met before, years ago.</p><p>Layla’s father was an American doctor who was also a restless sort, exploring the world, lucky to be the only heir to a wealthy family from western Pennsylvania, a fortune made in the steel industry behind him. When both of his parents were killed in an accident shortly after his graduation from medical school, her father had started traveling, offering medical care to small communities around the globe, almost unheard of back in the late 19<sup>th</sup> century.</p><p>It was on one of those trips, this one to Cairo, when her father met her mother. According to Jacob Easton, he’d fallen in love at first sight with the beautiful young Egyptian woman, her mother, Zahra Gamal, at first sight. They’d married and settled in Cairo in time for Layla’s birth in 1899, but Layla never met her mother, who died giving birth to her.</p><p>They’d stayed there in Cairo until Layla was eight, a nanny, Aziza Bay, helping her father with the child he’d never imagined he’d have to raise on his own. By the time Layla was six, she could speak English, French, Arabic, and a fair number of Ancient Egyptian dialects. She spent as much time as she could in libraries and museums, and she was able to read hieroglyphics with startling accuracy. Layla had met both Evy and Jonathan Carnahan at a small school in Cairo, but Layla hasn’t seen either of them in nearly fifteen years.</p><p>When she was eight, her nanny had needed to return home to her people, a desert tribe that she’d told Layla stories of but never named. She’d only met Aziza’s family a few times, odd, quiet encounters in the museum or at a market.</p><p>She doesn’t remember much about those meetings except the black robes worn by the men, the fascinating tattoos on their faces, and the young boy, no more than a year older than Layla herself, peeking out from behind a man Layla guessed was his father. The boy was clearly not afraid, just quiet and respectful, his soft brown eyes meeting hers with a mix of kindness and curiosity in his gaze.</p><p>With Aziza’s departure, Jacob Easton packed up their suitcases. They’d spent the next eight years traveling. Her father became her teacher, and she saw the world. When she was a young teenager, they’d spent nearly two of those years in the far East, in southern Japan, and Layla learned to speak Japanese and also to defend herself. Her father had been adamant, and she’d learned various martial arts, including being trained in a new developing style that her Sensei referred to as Aikido.</p><p>Her father also taught her how to shoot, use a knife effectively, and even to fence. She regrets never asking him why he was able to use the knife in particular. When Layla was 16, they’d returned to Cairo, as her father had begun to have health issues. He’d passed away suddenly, his heart failing. He left Layla an orphan, certainly wealthy, but completely alone save an elderly aunt in Pittsburgh.</p><p>In her sadness, she’d needed a new focus. She’d argued and tested her way into one of the few spots available to women at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where she just completed her double advanced degrees in Archeology and History. Her intention is to return to Cairo, to work at the museum if she can, and she knows that Evelyn Carnahan has similar aspirations, though Evelyn is a few years behind Layla in age and in education, as Evelyn is probably 19 while Layla is 23.</p><p>Evelyn doesn’t turn the first time Layla calls to her, so she tries again. “Miss Carnahan, Evy, do you have a moment?”</p><p>At the diminutive of her name, Evelyn turns, clearly ready to chastise whoever it is who used such a familiar name. Before she can speak, though, her eyes widen in surprise, her head tilting to the side as she stares at Layla. They are attired in decidedly different ways. Evelyn is dressed primly, a demure blouse and mid-calf skirt with a feminine jacket in soft pastels, and proper heels.</p><p>Layla is in attire that is similarly proper but a far more modern, a black pleated skirt that goes only to her knees, black, nearly-flat slipper shoes, and a v-necked, long cream sweater that is more of a tunic covered with a black fringed shawl. Instead of traditional pearls, Layla wears a few short gold necklaces as well as a longer gold chain with a gold charm given to her by Aziza with a promise that it would keep her safe and make her recognizable to Aziza’s people. With her heels and superior height, probably 5’6” to Layla’s deceptively slight 5’4” (deceptive in that she’s more muscular and fit than most women), Evelyn looks down to meet Layla’s eyes as she approaches.</p><p>Evelyn says, “Do I know you? I believe I recognize you, but I cannot recall from where.”</p><p>Layla nods, shifting the large canvas bag she carries with her books and notes in it. “Yes. We met in Cairo years ago, when we were children.”</p><p>Before Layla can go on, Evelyn brightens and smiles. “Layla! It’s the eyes, such a brilliant green. You were older than I was, but I remember your eyes. My older brother Jonathan had quite the crush on you, according to my father.”</p><p>“Yes! Layla Easton, Miss Carnahan. I’m so glad you remember.” Layla smiles back at her. She ignores the comment about Jonathan. She’s heard stories about him as well, much more negative, but not so bad that she’s concerned.</p><p>Evelyn shakes her head. “Please, it’s Evy.”</p><p>Layla smiles again, but she notices that Evy shivers as a stiff breeze blows through the open courtyard. “Evy, would you like to come to my flat for tea? Are you finished with classes for the day?”</p><p>“That would be lovely. September seems colder than usual this year.” Evy nods and follows as Layla motions in the direction of the small, shared house where she has a flat.</p><p>“I’m afraid it’s a bit of a walk. I was only able to find it because the owner’s tenant took a new position in America. He and I traded apartments, flats. His at Cornell in New York.” Layla explains.</p><p>Evy shakes her head. “That’s quite alright, I don’t mind the walk. Cornell? Is that where you studied first?”</p><p>Layla nods. “Yes. I’m here to do a graduate capstone of sorts. I published my dissertation in May. This isn’t that cold to me, to be honest. Ithaca, New York is lovely much of the year, but the winter there can be brutal, deep snow and very cold.”</p><p>Evy shivers again. “I cannot imagine. Beastly cold and all those Americans.” She blinks then. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Your father is from America, isn’t he?”</p><p>Layla frowns slightly. “No offense taken, Evy. And yes, my father’s family was from western Pennsylvania. He was born outside of Pittsburgh.” She catches Evy’s eye. “He died in ’15. The doctors told me that his heart failed. We were back in Cairo.”</p><p>“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, Layla. I remember those startling green eyes of his, so much like yours.” Evy looks sad for a moment. “My parents have passed as well. Jonathan is already back in Cairo. I hope to be there in less than two years. I am hoping to go to work for the museum or the library, to gain admission to the Bembridge Scholars.”</p><p>Layla snorts derisively, and Evy looks shocked. “Sorry, I mean no real disrespect. Those men may have a lot of information, but they lack true passion and empathy, in my opinion. They study Egypt as if it’s a bug under a glass. As someone half-Egyptian, it’s more than a little offensive. I dealt with the same challenges with my professors at Cornell, though I had to hold my tongue. Now that I have my degree, I’m admittedly less measured.”</p><p>Evy sighs, nodding. “But they are the best way for me to study as I’d like to. Scholarly pursuits are all I have known. England, Cairo, schools; my experience is limited to those things. If I can establish myself with them, I might find opportunities beyond what is available now.”</p><p>“I do understand, Evy. And I sincerely meant no offense.” They arrive at Layla’s home, and she guides Evy into the small flat on the lower level. There is already a fire in the grate, and the room is comfortingly warm.</p><p>“How is the fire already lit?” Evy looks enchanted by the small, charming space. There are drawings of Egyptian monuments all around as well as multiple photographs.</p><p>Layla puts her bags down and hangs up her shawl, taking Evy’s jacket and hanging it up as well. “My neighbor, Mrs. Ashby. She’s a widow, no children, and she makes sure that the tenant here, usually a student, is looked after. It’s rather nice.”</p><p>“That’s lovely. The room where I stay always seems so cold.” Evy makes a face.</p><p>With a light laugh, Layla says, “Well, I have a comfy sofa there,” she points to the living room, “And I’ll get you a key. Anytime it’s too cold, come here to sleep or study. I don’t mind at all. As much as I’m used to the cold, I don’t like it when I get cold.”</p><p>“Thank you so much, Layla. I’ll likely take you up on that.” Evy looks a little embarrassed. “But you don’t have to do that.”</p><p>Layla reaches out and squeezes Evy’s shoulder. “Nonsense. No one should have to suffer to no reasonable end or purpose. And we women Egyptologists need to stick together, right?” Evy gives her a grateful smile, nodding. “Now make yourself at home.”</p><p>Layla goes to her small kitchen to make the tea, and after setting the kettle on the stove to boil, she walks back over to Evy, who has kicked off her heels and is closely examining a photo of Layla and her Sensei in Japan. “That is my Sensei, my martial arts instructor and guide, in Tanabe, in the south of Japan. My father engaged him to teach me self defense when we were there providing medical care in some of the poorer villages.”</p><p>“Self defense?” Evy looks shocked again. “Why?”</p><p>Layla shrugs, going back to the kitchen to pour the hot water over the tea leaves in the small pot. She brings it on a tray to the dining table with some sugar and milk. As Evy sits, Layla explains, “When we traveled, my father wanted to be sure I was safe. In addition to Egypt, we spent time in several countries in Europe, in America, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, India, Turkey, and Australia. He never wanted me unable to take care of myself. I can use a gun and a knife, as well.”</p><p>“Oh my.” Evy takes a sip of her tea. “I cannot even imagine. I don’t think I could ever do anything like that!”</p><p>Layla smiles and shrugs again. “It’s somewhat second nature now. Maybe you’ll surprise yourself one day.”</p><p>X X X X X X X X</p><p>
  <em>One Year Later, Cairo, 1923</em>
</p><p>Nervously smoothing down the colorful, tailored tunic she wears over fitted pants, Layla pulls the scarf from her hair and lets it rest around her neck. She peers around the museum as she walks, thinking that she’s finally home.</p><p>“Dr. Bey?” Layla knocks on the doorframe of the Assistant Curator, rumored to soon be named Curator, of the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. She just arrived back in Cairo after her year at Oxford where she completed a doctorate, one of the first women to ever do so. She spent the first week airing out the house she and her father shared here. It’s near the museum, relatively small but well-appointed. She’d had caretakers looking after it for the last several years, and they live in a small apartment at the back of the house.</p><p>The man looks up from what appears to be a translation. “Yes? How can I assist you, Miss?”</p><p>Layla comes into the office. “We had an appointment, Dr. Bey. I’m Dr. Layla Easton, just arrived from Cornell by way of England?”</p><p>His eyes widen, and he stands and motions to the chair in front of his desk. “Dr. Easton! I must apologize. Your cables didn’t mention that you are,” he pauses.</p><p>Layla quirks a smile and sits. As Dr. Bey retakes his seat, Layla supplies, “A woman? No, I did not disclose that for fear that you would refuse the meeting. I apologize for not being completely direct.”</p><p>Surprising her, the man shakes his head. “Your research is impeccable, Doctor, so I cannot be angry. And in fairness, you are likely correct. Now, are you certain you wish to join our excavations teams? They are made up of men with just a few female assistants.”</p><p>She sits up straight in her chair. “I do, sir. I have some field work experience, but it’s limited. I feel I should have to prove myself in the field as well as I have in the library and with a typewriter.”</p><p>“I’ve read your papers. I’m not surprised that you’re here outside of Bembridge projects. Your concern for the sanctity of sites and integrity of projects is admirable and refreshing.” Dr. Bey sighs. “I wish more young Egyptologists were the same.”</p><p>“This is the land of my mother, Dr. Bey, and I spent more than half of my childhood here in Cairo. Not only was my mother Egyptian, but an Egyptian woman helped to raise me. She was from one of the desert tribes.” She looks at Dr. Bey, and she can see that he is interested. “Her name is similar to yours, Bay, but spelled B-A-Y. Aziza.”</p><p>The man’s eyes widen. “You know Aziza Bay?”</p><p>“Yes. She was my nanny, and my father also taught her a lot of western medicine.” She blinks. “Do you know her? Is she still alive?”</p><p>“Yes and yes, Dr. Easton. She is quite well. My family is from a neighboring tribe to hers. I can get her a message if you like.” Dr. Bey eyes her. “Many of us were surprised when Aziza took what was considered to be an inferior role in a Cairo household. She’d been learning medicine, but I heard that she’d attended the birth of a girl where the mother perished, then didn’t return for over eight years.”</p><p>Layla swallows hard. “That was me. My mother, Zahra Gamal, died in childbirth.”</p><p>“Ah. Ana aasef giddan.” Layla blinks and nods, surprised that he simply expressed a sincere apology as opposed to the comment that things were as Allah willed it that she usually receives. He eyes her, and he seems to notice something. “Where did you get your necklace?”</p><p>Layla grips the charm on her long chain. “This one?” At his nod, she says, “It was a gift from Aziza when she went home. She told me it would keep me safe and make me recognizable to her people. She gave it to me, told me, ‘Allahu Ma’ana,’ and left.” She smiles sadly. “I know that means God is with us, but it has been hard to remember that at times.”</p><p>“She was right.” Dr. Bey responds. At Layla’s questioning look, he says, “God is with you, Dr. Easton, but I also recognize you and the protection Aziza wished for you, though you might not. I’ll speak with the tribal Chieftain about finding you a guard for your expeditions.”</p><p>With a frown, Layla protests, “That will not be needed, Dr. Bey.”</p><p>“Aziza would have my head if I failed in this.” Dr. Bey is clearly going to stand his ground.</p><p>“Then I’d like to speak with her. I’d like to anyway, but I certainly am not going to tolerate being watched over like a child. It’s not needed and is a bit insulting, sir.” Layla stands.</p><p>Dr. Bey stands as well, his hands raised in a placating manner. “Please, Dr. Easton. She is the aunt of our new Tribal Chieftain. I fear her wrath far more than yours or even our Chieftain’s, but I do understand. Let me contact her, and you can take this up directly with her. It will take a few days, but the next expedition, the one you’ll likely join, doesn’t leave for at least two weeks.”</p><p>Layla nods begrudgingly. “All right. Please let me know when she arrives.”</p><p>“She’ll likely come to you, if you live where you did before.” Dr. Bey shrugs. “Do you?”</p><p>“I do. My father never had the heart to sell it before he died, and I didn’t either. When I’m not here, that’s usually where I will be.” Layla turns to leave, but then looks back. “Is she truly well?”</p><p>The man’s gaze softens. “She is. Getting older, but feisty and amusing. She is uniquely independent amongst the women of our tribes. She has spoken of her little lily quite often. I’m thinking that was you.”</p><p>“It was.” Layla meets his eyes. “I look forward to seeing her again. Shukraan, Dr. Bey.”</p><p>“You’re welcome, Dr. Easton. Allahu Ma’ana.” He inclines his head.</p><p>“Allahu Ma’ana.” Layla leaves, her mind swirling with everything that was just said.</p><p>Three days later, Layla is busily making sure her house is spotless, guessing that Aziza might appear at any time, at least based on what Dr. Bey told her. She has used the time to read up on the expedition she’ll be joining and to buy suitable clothing for a dig in the desert, more comfortable tunics, split down the sides for easy movement on a dig but also for easy movement if she has to defend herself. She did buy heavy boots, heavier pants that will not tear if she kneels in them to dig, and more scarves for her hair.</p><p>She’s not a practicing Muslim, but she does cover her hair out of respect. Her father used to acknowledge that, especially after the death of Zahra, his relationship with God was fraught. Layla has similar feelings, only amplified by the death of her father.</p><p>Today, she’s in a more comfortable outfit, a fitted top and loose harem pants with simple flat shoes and a scarf that can act as a head covering or a wrap if needed, and her necklace is in place as always. She is placing a book on a shelf when there is a brisk knock at her door. She goes to the front of the house, peering through the window at the side of the door seeing a woman flanked by a large man in dark robes with a head covering down over his forehead and a scarf across his nose and mouth.</p><p>Ignoring the man, she lets go of a happy squeak, quite uncharacteristic for her, and she throws the door open. “Aziza!”</p><p>In moments, Layla is wrapped up in a powerful hug, a hug she remembers and that brings surprising tears to her eyes. The woman who holds her murmurs quietly, “There, there, my little lily. I’m am so grateful to Allah to see you again.” Aziza was always taller than Layla, and she remains so, tall for a woman, still dwarfing Layla by four or five inches.</p><p>Layla nods against her shoulder before pulling back, gazing at her former nanny. Other than some silver in her long black hair and a few laugh-related creases around her eyes, she is happy to see that she hasn’t changed much at all in all these years. “And I am so grateful to see you as well, Mama Aziza.”</p><p>She frowns when she sees the darkly clothed man behind them tense, his hand already on his sword. Aziza notices, too. She clucks at the man, much to Layla’s surprise. He’s taller than both of them by far, probably between 6’1” and 6’2, and his dark clothes and weapons make him seem menacing. But Aziza certainly isn’t cowed by him. She shakes a finger at him and bats his hand off of his sword. “Ardeth Bay, what possesses you to behave in such a way. I’ll make you leave that sword outside if you touch it again.”</p><p>Layla can’t help but giggle softly when the man rolls his eyes and shakes his head, motioning to the door. “We should go inside.” His deep voice in perfect English surprises Layla, and she scolds herself for that. She knows far better than to make assumptions.</p><p>She shows them inside, and as she closes the door, she’s shocked when she turns to see Aziza reach up and pull the man’s scarf down and knock his head covering off. “Ardeth, you are inside the home of a proper western lady. You should remove those things.”</p><p>He rolls his eyes again, fully pulling off the head covering and scarf and laying them on a bench by the door. “Aunt Aziza, I was about to.”</p><p>“Pfft,” Aziza dismisses him with a wave of her hand, making Layla laugh again. Then she blinks in surprise when Aziza says, “I remember where the kitchen is. I’ll make tea. Little lily, show Ardeth the courtyard. You may have to prove some things to us both.”</p><p>Before Layla can reply, the woman bustles out, leaving her alone with the man she referred to as Ardeth. After an awkward moment, she looks at him. “Well, all right then.” She smiles hesitantly. “I’m Layla, Dr. Layla Gamal Easton.”</p><p>“Ardeth Bay,” the man replies, bowing slightly at the waist. “It’s good to meet the girl who my aunt claims as her only child.”</p><p>Layla feels warmth at the thought, but then she frowns, her shoulders stiffening. “Woman, Mr. Bay.”</p><p>“I’m sorry?” He looks confused.</p><p>“I am a woman, Mr. Bay, not a girl. Given that I’d guess you’re not much older than I am, unless you’d like me to refer to you as a boy, I’d appreciate it if you’d refrain from classifying me as a ‘girl.’” She tips her head. “The courtyard is this way. Please follow me.”</p><p>When they reach the door to the courtyard, he catches up with her, putting his hand on the handle before she can. “Please, my apologies, Dr. Easton. To Aziza, you are still a child, and that is how she refers to you. That is what was in my mind. I meant no disrespect.” He lifts an eyebrow, obviously thinking for a moment. “I remember you. From the museum and the markets with Aziza when she’d meet with my father, the last Chieftain of the Medjai.”</p><p>She furrows her brow, then she breaks into a soft look. “The boy with the curious and kind brown eyes.”</p><p>His look mirrors hers. “And the girl with the breathtaking green.”</p><p>Layla sighs, her shoulders dropping, all the tension draining out of her. “I certainly accept your apology, but I won’t say it’s fine, Mr. Bay. It’s something I encounter far too often in my chosen field. I’d prefer not to encounter it in my own home.” She peers up at him. “But I know it was innocently spoken. I should now apologize for overreacting.”</p><p>“Ardeth, please, Dr. Easton.” He nods and opens the door for her and motions her through.</p><p>She sees his words for the olive branch that they are. As she passes him, she softly says, “Layla, Ardeth. You may call me Layla.”</p><p>As they step outside, neither of them see Aziza watching from the door to the kitchen, a pleased look on her face. She’d known almost twenty years ago about these two. She’d seen them watch each other as children, the quiet, smart girl and the headstrong but well-meaning boy who would write her and ask after the green-eyed girl after seeing her in the market the first time.</p><p>Her nephew worries the Council greatly, being nearly twenty-six and not even having considered courting any of the many eligible young women among the Medjai. It occurs to her that it might not be too long before the grumpy old men of the Council can quit their worrying.</p><p>X X X X X X X X</p><p>Layla has to take a deep breath as she leads Ardeth to a table under a covered awning in the courtyard. She’s never been truly shaken by a man before, but Ardeth Bay seems to have taken her by storm. She feels nervous and unbalanced as she sits, and she scolds herself for wondering if his hair, similar to hers, just shoulder-length instead of mid-back, is as soft as it looks.</p><p>Ardeth sits relatively near her under the awning, leaving ample space for Aziza to join them. After a moment, he says, “I don’t mean any disrespect by saying this, Layla, but I am surprised that you are alone here. Your father was willing to let you return to Cairo unguarded?”</p><p>Layla sighs, trying not to be defensive. “My father died when I was 16, Ardeth. I’m 24 now. I’ve been just fine unguarded for quite some time now.”</p><p>“No husband? No other family?” He presses.</p><p>She looks sharply at him, but she sees only curiosity and concern, no judgement. “My only living relative is a very elderly aunt in Pittsburgh, in America, who was determined that I not attend college or pursue my career. Luckily, the trust fund from my father paid for my education easily. And no, no husband. The only type of man interested in me when I was at Cornell and then Oxford was the type who assumed that a woman in a man’s world wasn’t a woman of character or morals. They pursued me with a single goal in mind. So, I have remained steadfastly single rather than dealing with men who would try to take liberties.”</p><p>“I am glad to see that it does not seem to worry you, Layla, as those men showed you their own lack of character with their disrespectful pursuit.” He frowns. “I hope none of those pigs harmed you in their pursuit of those liberties.”</p><p>She smirks and catches his eye. “Some tried. Little did they know that Jacob Easton was very diligent in making sure his daughter could take care of herself.”</p><p>A tray drops to the tabletop, making them both jump. “A wise man, the elder Dr. Easton was. I was sorry to hear of his passing, little lily. Your father was a good man.”</p><p>“The best,” Layla agrees. “I miss him every day, but I am glad to be back here, where I feel his presence more than anywhere else. He loved Egypt greatly, Mama Aziza.”</p><p>“I know, little lily. But he also asked that I always protect you, reminded me of the vow I made to him before his passing.” She pours tea for Layla, herself, and Ardeth.</p><p>“Vow?” Layla looks confused.</p><p>“Before I finally heeded my brother’s, Ardeth’s father’s call to return to the desert to train the healers of our tribes, I promised your father that the Medjai would always protect you if you were in Egypt. He wrote to me before his death to remind me.” She levels a look at Layla. “So, when I heard from Dr. Bey at the museum, I realized that your father never shared that with you.”</p><p>“Mama Aziza, I can manage just fine on my own.” Layla protests. “I do not need a guard, no matter what you and Dr. Bey seem to believe.”</p><p>“I’ve spoken with Ardeth, now the Chieftain, and he agrees with us, not you.” Aziza shrugs.</p><p>Layla glares at him, and he returns the look with no hesitation. “I do. Layla, this country is a dangerous place if you are unprepared.”</p><p>She stands, dropping her scarf and tucking her necklaces into her tunic. She tightens her braided hair and walks to the center of the courtyard. Aziza and Ardeth both watch her, confused looks on their faces. “Come on then, mighty Chieftain. I’ll show you how prepared I am.”</p><p>He stands and approaches her, shaking his head. She drops into what might seem to be a defensive stance. He holds out a hand, clearly thinking she’s a bit mad. She reaches out, lightning fast, and grips his wrist, spinning and using his own bodyweight as leverage to spin him away from her, pushing him as she releases him. He lands rather unceremoniously on his rear. Layla drops back into her defensive stance as Aziza laughs loudly.</p><p>Ardeth eyes her for a moment, assessing her stance. Then he gives a quick nod and rears back, leaping easily to his feet, fluidly removing his sword in its sheath and placing it to the side. He then centers himself and comes at her. She deflects all of his strikes, and even though he lands a blow to her shoulder, she spins and lands a kick to his back before spinning away. When they both reset to a ready stance, they exchange a look, and something warm bubbles in her chest when he growls, “Again.”</p><p>Half an hour later, they are sweaty, aching, and tired, both sporting new bruises. Aziza claps her hands. “Enough for now, you two.” She walks over to them. “I have a thought. Ardeth, you left your men in command, did you not? Told them this might take a fortnight?”</p><p>Ardeth has to catch his breath before picking up his sword and responding, “Yes, because that is what you asked of me, Aunt.”</p><p>“Good. We both have bags on our horses, and they are in the stables,” she says to Layla, “We’ll stay with you, and Ardeth can work with you to be sure you’re ready for your expedition. We’ll stay the fortnight. Is my old room still open, little lily? Ardeth can sleep in yours, as I assume you’ve moved to the largest one.”</p><p>Unable to say anything else due to her surprise, Layla shakes her head. “No, I’m in my old room. I could not bear to move into Father’s room. Ardeth can have that one. It’s more proper, as it is to the far side of the stairs from you and me.”</p><p>“Perfect.” Aziza nods, then looks at Ardeth. “I’ll go fetch our bags. You help little lily take the tea things in, Ardeth.”</p><p>Before either of them can argue with her, Aziza goes inside, chuckling. She exchanges an awkward glance with Ardeth, then goes back to the table, putting the tea things on the tray. She’s about to lift the tray, but she nearly jumps a foot when she feels a warm palm on her shoulder.</p><p>She turns, and Ardeth is there, towering over her, and he gently wraps her scarf around her neck. “I’m sorry for Aziza. I can talk to her tonight if you don’t want us here. But I can train you. You’re very good, and you even have some moves that I’d like you to show me. I cannot stay longer than the fortnight, but at the end of that time, I know both Aziza and I will be able to rest well with you on your own.”</p><p>Before Layla can reply, he goes on, “It would be best to not have to send one of my men with you. There are rumors about that a group of soldiers march this way from Libya to try to loot one of our most sacred sites, and as Medjai, it is our responsibility to stop them. But they are not expected to arrive at,” he pauses, “At the site until at least three weeks from now. So, I have the time. Will you allow this, Layla Gamal Easton?”</p><p>“I’ll allow this, Ardeth Bay.” She scolds herself mentally when she realizes how flirtatious that sounded.</p><p>He seems unfazed, but a glint in his eye makes her think that her flirtation was effective. He looks her up and down appraisingly, managing to not seem lascivious. “You are stronger than you appear, little lily.”</p><p>She blushes lightly. “And you move faster than I thought you might in all those clothes.” She looks up at him through her lashes. “Will you be offended if I wear less feminine clothing when this testing of me begins? I assume it will be more of this and then some?” She motions to the red mark she made on his wrist and the light bruise rising on her shoulder.</p><p>He winces when his eyes land on her bruise. “Forgive me for marking you.”</p><p>She shakes her head, “Only if you forgive me for doing the same to you.”</p><p>She then picks up the tray and heads inside. Once Aziza returns with hers and Ardeth’s bags, Layla excuses herself, going upstairs to change after telling Ardeth how to find her father’s old room. Her clothes are soaked with sweat, and she can only imagine how she smells right now.</p><p>Downstairs, Aziza eyes Ardeth. “My little lily has flustered you, nephew. I’m not sure I’ve seen you flustered since you were a teenager.”</p><p>Ardeth turns to his aunt, irritated. “Aunt, this was what the Americans would call a set up, was it not? I know you are one of the chorus who is worried for my solitude. This was a clear attempt to choose a wife for me.”</p><p>Aziza has the wherewithal to look a little embarrassed. “Ardeth, I’m not choosing anything. If it is Allah’s will, you will choose one another.”</p><p>He notes that she didn’t deny that this was a set up, just sidestepped that issue. “Aunt, you claim to know Layla well, and I think you imagine you know me. Neither of us is likely what we seem. You seem to think we’re both just pigheadedly single-minded, but I sense the same fear in her that I feel in myself. I believe we are both alone by our own choice.” He picks up his bag, sighing, thinking of his parents, his sister, and the first girl he’d been betrothed to, a girl he’d grown up with and learned to love, all of them lost in a bandit ambush in the desert, one that he’d barely survived.  </p><p>He walks to the stairs. Without turning to look back at his aunt, he quietly says, “To love is to lose, Aziza. I would guess that your little lily and I both are acutely attuned to that fact. Please do not press us in your usual way. I also sense that Layla will be someone important to me, but in what manner will be for Layla and I alone to determine. I’ll not let you drive her away with your meddling. Tread lightly here, Aunt. Give us space and respect.”</p><p>Aziza inclines her head as he disappears up the stairs towards Layla’s father’s room, quietly proud of her nephew. He usually ignores the chatter around him, but in this she realizes that even Ardeth’s walls can be scaled by the right person. She can only hope that he has the courage to show Layla how to do it.</p><p>What she assumes neither of them know is that Layla heard their entire exchange from the top of the stairs, tears forming in her eyes at Ardeth’s quiet defense and protection of them against the meddling of his well-meaning but clearly interfering aunt. She slips into her room before Aziza can come up, leaning her back against the door. She’s stunned by how clearly Ardeth saw her fear of further loss. But more than anything, she’s stunned by his quiet confidence that they will be something to each other, almost as stunned as she is by the fact that she wants very badly for that to happen.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Separations and Reunions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ardeth and Layla grow closer, and a friend comes to the museum.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Author’s Note: OK, almost no readers (not unexpected given the age of the movies), but I’m good with that! I’m writing this as much for me (escapism) as anything else. I hope that the folks who are reading are enjoying it.</p><p>Note – this is the rest of the set up, far longer than I intended. The end will start to bring in familiar faces. There will also be time jumps (but I will revisit some of what happened in later chapters via flashback or dialogue). And I am not about the slow burn. This is about weaving happiness for my favorite canon character into the movies.</p><p>Disclaimer per usual – I do not own The Mummy, just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.</p><p> </p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>One Week Later</em>
</p><p>“You must stop dropping your shoulder. I see you coming each time.” Ardeth holds a hand out to Layla, pulling her to her feet with almost no effort.</p><p>She literally sticks her tongue out at him and goes over to the table to fetch them both a glass of water. It’s early in the day, but despite it being late September, it’ll still be extremely hot by the afternoon. They’ve taken to practicing like this in the morning, taking a break for lunch and then her showing him Aikido moves or working with his sword in the shade of the stables later in the day. She’s already shown him that she does just fine with a handgun, a lesson their first afternoon.</p><p>He chuckles, following her, used to her occasional immature streak by now. “Little one, whether it is irksome to you or not, it is still true.”</p><p>She hands him a glass, sighing, though internally warming up at the version of Aziza’s nickname for her that he has started using. It had annoyed her momentarily, but it was said with such warmth – and he has easily nine, nearly ten, inches and at least fifty pounds on her – that she didn’t protest. “I know, and I’m trying to stop. Sensei also would chastise me about this.”</p><p>He nods, taking a drink. He knows what she is talking about now. After dinner the first night, Aziza had retired early while Layla and Ardeth had returned to the courtyard with more tea. She’d told him about Japan and her Sensei there, about learning martial arts. She’d been amazed by how genuinely interested he’d been in her stories from Japan and all of the other places she and her father had traveled while Layla was growing up.</p><p>In turn, he’d told her about his youth. She’d been amazed to hear that he’d been at Oxford as well, close to at the same time she’d been at Cornell. His time there abruptly ended by the deaths of his family members and, as he’d quietly told her, the woman he’d been intended to marry.</p><p>She’d told him about her parents and even about how difficult her transient growing up had been after Aziza went back to the Medjai. She’d also confessed to him, only after he swore that he’d never tell the woman, that she’d cried for Aziza almost every night for over a year. She’d blushed then, embarrassed at what she thought of as her shallow sadness. In her mind, her losses pale in comparison to his.</p><p>Almost as though he could read her mind, he’d moved her hair back and brushed his thumb over her burning cheek. He’d then said, “Little one, grief is never a competition. I at least had my family for most of my life. You had no time with your mother, precious little with Aziza, and also not long enough with your father.”</p><p>She’d shaken her head. “But you lost your intended, the woman you loved.”</p><p>He’d sighed, surprising her by leaning back and looking up at the stars. “She was more of a friend than a love. We’d grown up together in my tribe. It was a good match, and we would have had an enjoyable life, but it wasn’t romantic love, Layla. The loss I suffered was the loss of my friend, and it was terrible. I wasn’t with them because I was away at school in England. I cut my time there short to come back and step into my father’s place as Chieftain.”</p><p>She’d surprised both him and herself by taking his hand. He is, as she’d guessed, only about a year older than she is, and that thought had made her realize how young he was when he took on the mantle of leadership of the group she's been sworn to keep secret. She’d taken a deep breath and pushed her fear away a bit, saying, “Aren’t we quite the pair of abject misery and loneliness?”</p><p>He’d looked at her and smiled slightly when he clearly noticed the teasing glint in her eyes. He’d laughed softly, but then he’d turned his hand over in hers, holding it tight in his. “We are indeed.” His eyes had flitted down to their joined hands and then back up to hers. “No one but Aziza is brave enough to tease me anymore. It is nice, something I’ve missed.”</p><p>They’d gone to bed then, but he hadn’t released her hand until they’d separated at the top of the stairs. It made her wonder if he’d known that she’d overheard him and Aziza talking earlier. Every night since, they’ve sat outside and had tea after dinner while watching the sky. Any awkwardness between them has faded completely, despite their different upbringings and lives.</p><p>She can tell that he still feels bad every time he leaves her bruised or scraped as they spar, but he has learned that she neither wants nor needs his regrets. She’s also been impressed by his willingness, even eagerness, to let her teach him some of the techniques she learned in Japan. She’s never had a man listen to her with so much intensity and interest. Even at Cornell, when she was showing more knowledge and understanding of their field than her male peers, no one paid her much attention.</p><p>She’s more comfortable with him than she has ever been with a man before, save her father. He makes her feel safe and self-confident, and the only way he is demanding or exacting is when it comes to ensuring her ability to protect herself. At the same time, though, over the course of this week, a strange, unfamiliar tension seems to grow between them more and more with each practice session.</p><p>“What are you thinking about, little one?” His voice is soft, but it still startles her.</p><p>She blinks. “You.” Her eyes widen. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?” She goes to the low bench behind where they stand in the courtyard, sitting on it with one leg curled beneath her and gripping her glass of water while her cheeks flame.</p><p>Ardeth observes her for a moment, his mind warring with his heart. He already believes that he has become too distracted by the half-American, half-Egyptian woman in front of him. She has little idea of how completely she has captivated him, with her mind, her strength, her courage, her heart, and he will readily admit, with her beauty, green eyes that now are regular fixtures in his dreams. In her, he knows he’s likely met his match, but he has responsibilities that he isn’t sure he can manage along with having a wife who would occupy his thoughts so often.</p><p>His first responsibility is to the Medjai and protecting the world from unimaginable horrors. But he has also now read her work from her graduate papers, how she rails against the methods of many less scrupulous archeologists or treasure hunters, against their greed (whether for wealth or fame) and against their lack of true caring for Egypt and its people. Given her role at the museum, she could be more than just a wife – she could be an ally as well, just as Dr. Bey is, helping his fellow Medjai protect the lost artifacts of Egypt from the inside.</p><p>More than anything, though, he wonders if she can manage the life she might have with him. Their children would be destined to lead the Medjai, and they likely wouldn’t be able to be together all of the time. Maybe their coming separation will help him see how well she can manage the possible lifestyle of the wife of a Medjai Chieftain and how he manages it as well.</p><p>He then shakes his head. He knows that he is getting far ahead of himself, as he is unsure of her feelings on the matter. He swallows hard, putting his glass on the table, determined to find out.</p><p>As the silence stretches out between them, Layla stares at the glass in her hand, wanting to sink into the ground, certain that she’s ruined things between them with her girlish mooning over him. She’s looking down at her hands, so she hears him move rather than seeing him. She actually flinches when she hears his glass hit the table, certain that the next thing she hears will be him walking away from her just like everyone else in her life has.</p><p>She’s surprised, then, when she sees his boots and black pants in her line of sight, right in front of her a moment later. He gently pries the water glass from her hand, turning and putting it down, also on the table if the sound is anything to go by. With nothing to hold onto anymore, Layla wrings her hands in her lap, continuing to look down. A moment later, his boots return, and when she doesn’t look up, he softly says, “Look at me, little one.”</p><p>She worries the fabric of her tunic with her hands, shaking her head. He sighs and kneels in front of her, finally making her look up in surprise, their eyes level for once. “Ardeth, please, you can leave me. I’m fine.” She’s irritated with herself, because her voice sounds small and breathy. The way she sits allows him to get very close to her, and she feels overwhelmed by his presence, but in the best possible way.</p><p>He shakes his head, covering both of her hands with one of his much larger ones. “I have no intention of leaving you, Layla, at least not today.” He sees a flash of hurt and sadness in her eyes at the last part of his sentence. “I think about you far more often than is right or proper, little one.” He reaches up with his free hand and touches her face with his palm, cupping her cheek. “I do not desire to leave you, but I must do just that less than a week from now.”</p><p>She nods. “I understand.”</p><p>He huffs out a quiet laugh. It occurs to him that she has no idea that he is as bereft at the idea of his leaving as she is. “I do not think that you do.” His hand stays on her face, and her brow furrows. He continues softly, “I have responsibilities as the leader of the twelve tribes, and I must live up to those responsibilities.” She nods again, but before she can reply further, he adds, “If I had my choice, I would not go, maybe not ever.”</p><p>She breathes out quietly. “Oh.” Then her eyes widen again, his words seeming to land. “Oh!”</p><p>With the thumb of the hand on her face, he brushes her lips, hoping he isn’t being too forward. He leans in closer. “May I, little one?”</p><p>She instinctively wets her lips, his eyes following the small movement, and she nods. “You may.”</p><p>He closes the distance between them, both of their eyes closing as his lips find hers. The kiss is chaste and gentle, completely undemanding. She feels him shuffle closer to her on his knees, his hand staying on her face while the other releases her hands in her lap and wraps around her waist.</p><p>She gives in to an impulse she’s been fighting all week and sinks one of her hands into his hair, finding it just as soft as she’d imagined. She runs her fingers through it, ending with her hand on the back of his neck, her nails softly scraping his skin as the tension she’d been feeling with him seems to release and form into something between them that is almost tangible in how right it feels.</p><p>He can’t stop himself from deepening the kiss at her reaction to him, happy that she hasn’t pushed him away. She gasps softly as he pulls her tight to his upper body, and he is reminded that she likely has little experience with men. He pulls back a moment later, resting his forehead against hers. As they both catch their breath, she whispers, “Oh my. So that’s what all the fuss is about.”</p><p>He huffs out a laugh, opening his eyes. “Indeed.” They stay that way for a moment, eyes locked and foreheads touching, until he finally says, “I am coming to care for you deeply, little one. If you feel the same, I need you to think about how you feel when we are separated next week. I cannot promise you that I will always be present, and I don’t imagine that a settled life in a desert tribe’s camp is where you belong, either.”</p><p>“Are you saying you don’t think we can be together, Ardeth?” She pulls back slightly, hurt once again apparent in her eyes. He doesn’t let her go far, keeping his arm around her waist.</p><p>“Not at all. But I need to know how well I manage keeping thoughts of you from the front of my mind, and knowing that I could be gone for quite some time, I want you to think on whether you can tolerate my long absences, particularly knowing that there could one day be an absence from which I do not return, thought it would not be my choice.”</p><p>She actually flinches at his words, looking down again, and he leans in, pressing a kiss to her temple. “It is my reality, little one. I cannot escape it, nor do I want to. My oath as the Chieftain of the Medjai is as much a part of me as anything else.”</p><p>She bites her lip, clearly thinking about his words. He begins to worry that she will reject him out of hand. After a moment, she quietly offers, “I think,” she pauses, then goes on, “No, I know that I will find that a little time with you whenever we can manage it is far preferable to the notion of being alone.” He begins to speak, but she shakes her head, showing him with her next words that she can nearly read his thoughts, “Nor would it be preferable to be with someone other than you, no matter how much we could be together.”</p><p>She mirrors him, cupping his cheek with her hand. “It terrifies me, but you are already very dear to me, Ardeth Bay, and you are worth any absences that we might have to suffer, any pain that the loss of you might bring.”</p><p>He turns his head, pressing a kiss to her palm. She shudders at the affection and intimacy of the small action, and he says, “I am very glad to hear you say that, Layla Gamal Easton, as you are also already very dear to me. And I am equally afraid. I have not let anyone get close to me since my family was killed. I’ve even kept Aziza at a distance, as I’m sure she’ll tell you once I leave. Whether that was to protect her or to protect myself, I’m not certain.”</p><p>Then, he gives her a mischievous look. “But we should not tell Aziza of this.” He motions between them. She furrows her brow, but he explains, “She’s been presumptuous, and I want her to stew on it. I know you heard us the first day we were here, when I asked Aziza to leave us be.”</p><p>She blushes lightly. “I did not intend to eavesdrop. I’d just come out to make sure that Aziza’s room was aired out when I heard you talking. It was inappropriate of me to listen without telling you that I was there.”</p><p>“I knew you were there, little one.”</p><p>“You did?” At his nod, she demands, “How?”</p><p>He smiles and leans into her, nuzzling her temple and inhaling. “Jasmine.” He leans back, meeting her eyes. “You must use a soap scented with Jasmine. I realized that you were there once I approached the stairs.”</p><p>“I buy it in the market. Is it too heavy? I can buy something else.” She gives into impulse again and brushes her hand through his hair.</p><p>He shakes his head. “Please don’t. I like it very much and already associate that scent with you.”</p><p>She smiles, but then her expression turns pensive. “One thing I should say, Ardeth, as I know it’s something central to you. I do not practice any religion. It’s not that I’m not a believer. Faith has just been hard for me to find of late; I completely respect yours, though. But if you would prefer that I cover my hair or –”</p><p>He cuts her off. “No, little one, I do not expect that of you. You aren’t property or someone for me to command. I’ve seen you out, when we went to the market this week, and I saw that you covered your head. You clearly respect traditions and cultures. That is what matters to me – not the action, the respect. If we were in a western country, back in England, for example, I’d not only not be bothered if you didn’t cover your hair, I’d actually be surprised if you did.”</p><p>“I don’t know, I wore some rather smashing hats during my year there.” He laughs, and she finds herself tracing the tattoos on his face with her fingertips. “These are beautiful. Do all Medjai have these?”</p><p>He shakes his head, rising to his feet in order to sit next to her on the bench. “No. They are usually only worn by warriors. Aziza doesn’t have them, and neither does Dr. Bey at the museum.”</p><p>“Ardeth, what are you and Dr. Bey protecting?” She cocks her head at him. “It must be something serious if it’s necessary to drive treasure-hunters and the like away.”</p><p>“Can I explain it when I return? It is complicated and something I need to think about how to relate to you.” He frowns. “I do not wish to hide things from you, little one – I do not want you to think I do not trust you. I do.”</p><p>She reaches out and takes his hand again, and he stops talking. When he looks at her. “I know. I trust you, too, Ardeth. And you do not owe me this. My natural curiosity can get me into trouble at times.”</p><p>“Speaking of, where will your dig be? I know you are leaving soon, and I’ve seen the books you were reading.”</p><p>She grins, sitting up straighter. “Alexandria. Just outside of Alexandria. It’s a newer site, and there are a few teams there.” Her smile falters. “But I’ve already heard stories of looting and lack of respect for the sites. It bothers me, and it makes me wonder how many digs I’ll be able to tolerate with such terrible people, even though some of the others there are likely honorable.” She shakes her head.</p><p>“There may be other work you can do here. I know Dr. Bey is to be promoted to curator soon. He could likely use the help of someone as bright as you and who has integrity and conviction as strong as yours.” He squeezes her hand.</p><p>“I think I might have to prove myself to him a bit.” She gives him a sheepish smile. “I might’ve omitted the fact that I’m a woman when I corresponded with him about archeological work here. Any work I’ve published has been as L. G. Easton, and I never signed my full name to anything I sent him.”</p><p>Ardeth laughs. “I imagine he was somewhat surprised.” She gives him a stern look, and he leans down, kissing it away. “I spoke with him before Aziza and I came here. He isn’t angry with you, little one, and he deeply appreciates your writings. I have been reading them myself, and I agree with him.” At her confused look, he explains, “Dr. Bey gave me copies of several of your articles and a book-like paper.”</p><p>“My graduate thesis.” She nods. “It’s rather critical of current methodologies and motivations. I was lucky to have a graduate adviser with similar concerns.”</p><p>“It is more insightful than you realize. The mission of the Medjai is to protect the world from some of the darkest forces you can imagine by protecting some of the most sacred and yet darkest sites here. That is why I am leaving soon.” He stands up and holds a hand out to her. “Now, let us see about getting you to stop dropping that shoulder.”</p><p>At the end of the week, just before dawn, Layla wraps herself in a shawl and walks with Ardeth out to the stables. He has all of his things in a bag, and after saddling his horse, he turns to look down at Layla, dressed in a modest dressing gown over her night dress. Her hair is loose around her shoulders, and he brushes some of it back from her face.</p><p>They’ve spent the last week getting to know each other better, and she’s not sure she can recall a better week in a very long time.  Little changed from their first week, except that their talks during their evenings under stars took place with her nestled in his arms and were interspersed with soft, lingering kisses, though nothing more inappropriate than that.</p><p>She’s never in her life felt so comfortable with a man, probably because he’s the first man outside of her father to truly take her seriously. He manages to make her feel safe and protected without feeling smothered, but he has also persisted in training her and letting her train him, both things bolstering her confidence in her ability to defend herself. Yesterday at dinner with her, Aziza, and Dr. Bey, he stated that he is confident that she does not require a guard. Dr. Bey had nodded immediately, and while it took her a moment longer, Aziza nodded as well.</p><p>Much to Ardeth’s amusement, they’ve also managed to fool Aziza about their relationship. The older woman has begun making remarks in front of them about the other, remarks they both respond to in such a way that implies (but never outright declares, as they both drew the line at lying) they are nothing but good friends.</p><p>But he has to leave this morning. He said his good-byes to Aziza the night before. Aziza insists upon staying with Layla for the time being, and she has said that she’ll even stay when Layla leaves for Alexandria in a few days. Ardeth has made it clear to Layla that he approves of this, that he knows that Aziza desires to be here in Cairo for now, that she insists this is where she currently belongs.</p><p>He’s now looking at Layla with a warm expression that makes his already dark brown eyes almost black. He leans down to her and kisses her gently before pulling her close in a hug. His chin perches on top of her head, and she takes a moment to nearly burrow into him, allowing herself to be completely surrounded by him. She sighs. “What am I going to do without you, Ardeth?”</p><p>His arms tighten around her, and he drops a kiss to the top of her head. “You will manage, little one. I will as well. And we’ll see each other as soon as it is possible for me to return.”</p><p>She shakes her head against him. “I never believed in fairy tales until now.” She leans away, far enough to see his eyes. “I never believed I’d fall in love with someone in less than two weeks.”</p><p>He kisses her again. “I am the same. But imagine my surprise at falling in love in one day.” He releases her and fluidly mounts his horse, knowing he needs to go. At her surprised expression, he lifts an eyebrow and says, “Little one, I knew I was going to love you the moment you knocked me to my rear that first day in the courtyard. You took my breath away.” He holds a hand out to her. She reaches up and takes it, and he meets her eyes with his. “I love you, Layla.”</p><p>“And I love you, Ardeth. Please be careful and come back to me.” She lets go of his hand and steps back.</p><p>“You do the same, little one. Keep your new knife handy.” He refers to the small, sharp weapon he presented to her a few nights ago, one he taught her to use. “Allahu Ma’ana.”</p><p>“Allahu Ma’ana, Ardeth. Safe travels.” She waves as he kicks his heels back, and his horse takes off. He pulls up at the gate to her home, waving one more time. She returns the gesture and then watches until he disappears into the half-light of the dawn.</p><p>She’s shocked when she realizes that tears have streaked her face, and she jumps when a warm hand squeezes her shoulder. “You two have been very tricky this week, haven’t you?” Layla turns and looks up at Aziza, whose face turns from amusement to dismay when she sees Layla’s tears. Aziza immediately hugs her close, and Layla clings to her as she did when she was a child. “Oh, my little lily, I didn’t realize. He will come back to you.”</p><p>“I need him to.” Layla whispers, burying her face in Aziza’s shoulder.</p><p>“No work today, little lily.” Layla pulls back to protest that she needs the distraction. Aziza shakes her head. “We will go to the market, find you some new dresses and scarves for when he returns, things that fit you more closely than those shapeless tunics you favor. And maybe something good to cook for our dinner. Then you can tell me about your coming trip, and the time before you leave will pass quickly.”</p><p>Layla shakes her head. She wants to fight Aziza, but she knows it would be futile. Aziza knows her well despite the years that passed before they were reunited. Layla huffs out a laugh. “I do dress that way to try to be culturally respectful, Mama Aziza, but I admit I also try to look less womanly in order to not draw the type of attention I do not want. It’s not how things should be, but it is how they are. I want the men on the digs to leave me be so that I might work without distraction.”</p><p>Aziza frowns. “Little lily, you are not making me feel better about letting you go off alone.”</p><p>“Ardeth trusts that I can handle it. I need you to do the same.” Layla levels a hard look at Aziza.</p><p>The older woman holds up her hands. “I do trust you and have confidence in you, dear one.” She shakes her head. “I wish for you that you didn’t have to concern yourself with dressing to not draw attention to yourself, odd, I know, coming from a woman of my background. It’s unfortunate.”</p><p>“It’s all right, Mama Aziza. Hopefully, things will improve for other intellectual women in the future.” She shrugs. She then blushes lightly. “You think Ardeth would like something more close-fitting?”</p><p>Aziza cackles. “My dear, I think he’d like it very much.”</p><p>She blushes again, but she also grins. “Then by all means, we should shop today.”</p><p>X X X X X X X</p><p>
  <em>Six Weeks Later</em>
</p><p>Layla walks briskly through the museum in Cairo, doing her best to keep up with Dr. Bey as they head to his office; she’s shorter and tired, and it’s a challenge. She returned from the dig in Alexandria a few days ago, and she is still fuming about how it went. It’s a Friday, the Holy day in Egypt, and the Museum is nearly empty, so she raises her concerns with her trip with Dr. Bey. “Dr. Bey, the archeologists in the field were barely qualified. How can we correct this?”</p><p>He shakes his head. “I don’t know, Dr. Easton. Mr. Carter’s discovery in Thebes as led to a new influx of treasure hunters. Even serious archeologists are being funded by private concerns. We can only work harder to review the applicants more carefully.” He eyes her. “You look more fatigued than the last time I saw you, Doctor. Did you have any troubles on your trip?”</p><p>She shakes her head quickly. She definitely did have issues with several of the so-called Egyptologists and archeologists on the dig, but she will not be sharing that with Dr. Bey, as she knows the next people to hear about it would be Aziza and Ardeth. She plans to talk to Ardeth when he returns, but she’s hesitant to say too much.</p><p>They stop at the door to the small office assigned to her by Dr. Bey. “No. But I may not want to go out again for some time. It was more disheartening and less satisfying than I’d expected. I enjoyed the work itself, but I felt alone in my pursuit of cultural rather than personal significance.”</p><p>Dr. Bey looks at her closely. “All right, Doctor. Bear in mind that I may need help soon with regard to planning dig teams and also with reviewing acquisitions for the Museum. I believe you would be ideally suited to that work, and I need an expert.”</p><p>She blinks, and then she narrows her eyes. “Did someone put you up to saying that, Dr. Bey?”</p><p>He holds up his hands. “I’ll not lie to you, Dr. Easton. It was Aziza who suggested it, but she isn’t incorrect. Her concern and motivations are personal, I’m sure, but I wouldn’t suggest it to you if I didn’t believe it to be a suggestion with merit. Think about it, Doctor.”</p><p>She nods. “I will. I’ll be heading home soon. Do you need anything further from me today?”</p><p>“No. And please take the day tomorrow, Doctor. Try to get some rest.” Dr. Bey gives her a concerned look.</p><p>“I might do just that. Thank you, Dr. Bey.” She watches as he walks away with a wave, and then she goes into her office to collect her bag.</p><p>Ten minutes later, she has her scarf over her hair, the long ends around her neck, nearly covering the lower portion of her face. She usually rides her horse to the museum, but she’d felt like walking this morning. The market area she cuts through on her way home is quiet, most people home with their families. The house will be empty when she arrives, as Aziza is away until the morning, visiting with a friend who is visiting Cairo.</p><p>When Layla gets home, she locks the door behind her, and she heads up the stairs, now heading to the room that was once her father’s. At Aziza’s urging, while Layla was gone on her dig, she allowed Aziza and the housekeeper to pack up all of her father’s old things save some photographs and books. When Layla returned, she was amazed to see that Aziza had transformed the room. All of Layla’s clothes are in the wardrobe, and the bed is now covered in a soft new blanket. Aziza also had the dressing table moved from Layla’s room to this one.</p><p>She’s loath to admit that she’s lonely. After years managing on her own, in just a few short weeks she was spoiled by the presence of Aziza, Ardeth, or both of them. It’s too quiet here now when it’s just her.</p><p>If it hadn’t been for Aziza telling her that she’d gotten a message from Ardeth that he was fine and checking in with some of the more southern tribes of the Medjai before returning to Cairo, she’d be worried sick. She doesn’t expect him back for another day or two, something that makes her sigh. Then she scolds herself for being so ridiculous.</p><p>She’s proud of herself for not spending the entire month in Alexandria fretting over him. It was only difficult at night, returning to her small tent, tense until sunrise, his knife close by. She didn’t tell Dr. Bey, but several of the archeologists were aggressively forward with her, so much so that she’d been concerned. He was right that she’s exhausted.</p><p>Layla changes into one of her more fitted sets of clothing, a dark green dress that is fitted at the top and with a flaring skirt. It’s actually quite comfortable, and she likes how the soft fabric moves when she walks. She’s brushing out her hair, released from the head covering and from its tight bun, when she hears the sound of a horse in the courtyard. She assumes that it’s a visitor for the housekeeper and her husband, the caretaker who has taken care of the house for her for years.</p><p>She’s startled, though, by a knock at the door several minutes later. She puts her brush down and heads downstairs. Before getting to the door, she pauses, peering out a small window that lets her see the front of the house. She sees a flash of black fabric, and she gasps and runs to the door, yanking it open. For half a heartbeat, she looks at the man in front of her, dusty from his ride, and she then throws herself at him, essentially leaping into his arms.</p><p>Ardeth is surprised, but he easily catches the woman as she propels herself forward. He does so with a short laugh before lifting her. She wraps her arms around his shoulders, and he pulls her to him, taking her weight and lifting her off of her feet. She buries her face in the crook of his neck, swallowing a sob. He feels one of her legs wrap around his hip, and he carries her inside with him, kicking the door closed behind them.</p><p>Though he knows it’s not entirely appropriate, he walks until her back is braced against the wall near the door, the feeling of having her in his arms again dispelling any concern he feels with regard to propriety. She’s clearly feeling the same, as her other leg comes up and hitches over his other hip, anchoring her to him.</p><p>He braces one hand under her, the other burying itself in her hair, cupping the back of her head. Her arms come up higher, and she tries to stop crying. His much larger body presses hers to the wall, and he drops his head to her shoulder, inhaling the scent of jasmine on her skin. After a moment, he says, “It would appear that you missed me as much as I missed you, little one.”</p><p>She laughs weakly and lifts her head. “I did. Very much.” She buries her hand in his hair, unable to wait any longer. She pulls him to her, pressing her lips to his.</p><p>He smiles against her mouth, and then he closes his eyes and deepens the kiss. She gasps softly, but she allows him to control the pace of the kiss. While she realizes that she’s suddenly more than ready to throw propriety to the winds, she knows that his faith is important to him. So, she wants him to take the lead. And lead he does, continuing to press her firmly to the wall with his body. After a long while, she’s not sure how long, he pulls back, resting his forehead against hers. “I’d planned to greet you a little more respectfully than this, little one.”</p><p>She blinks her eyes open, meeting his intense brown gaze. “Considering that I literally threw myself at you, I have no complaints, Ardeth.”</p><p>His eyes glance towards the interior of the house. “Aziza?”</p><p>“With a visiting friend until tomorrow morning.” She is a little dismayed with herself when she can’t resist the urge to squeeze his hips tighter with her legs.</p><p>He takes a few deep breaths, his hand leaving the back of her head, bracing against the wall. “I do not know that I can trust myself alone with you, little one.”</p><p>She doesn’t know how to respond to that, so she just leans in and kisses him again, this time far more chastely. “I love you, and I trust you, Ardeth. I can trust you enough for both of us.”</p><p>He smiles, but he slowly lowers her to the floor. “I truly did miss you, Layla.”</p><p>She nods, truly looking him over closely. He’s dusty from his ride, and his eyes look tired just like hers. “Do you have a bag?”</p><p>“Yes.” He steps to the door. “It’s out there. You distracted me.”</p><p>She laughs. He goes out and picks up his bag, coming back in and closing the door behind him. He starts to say something, but when his eyes land on her, they widen as they track up and down her body. “Your dress, it is –” He stops talking, blinking as he stares at her.</p><p>She wrings her hands together. “Do you like it? Aziza took me shopping in the market. She said you would like it.” She picks at the skirt. “I just like it because it’s quite comfortable and cooler than pants and a tunic.”</p><p>“It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful, Layla.” He drops his bag and steps closer to her, cupping her face in his hand. “You bought a dress just because you thought I would like it?”</p><p>She bites her lip. “Several of them, actually.” She shrugs a little. “Aziza can be quite convincing when she wants to. You know how she is once she has an idea in her head.”</p><p>“I do.” He pauses. “She knows?”</p><p>“She does. She came out as you left that morning, and she started to tease me until she saw that I was in tears.” She shrugs again, this time with tears coming to her eyes again. “It was rather hard to pretend we weren’t more than friends then.”</p><p>After that, he hugs her again, then insists on going upstairs to what is now the guest room, her old room, to change. She tells him no one else will visit, so when he comes back down, he wears a soft tunic shirt and loose pants, more casual than she has ever seen him. She found some things in the food cellar, just some hummus, bread, and vegetables Aziza had put aside for her before leaving to visit her friend.</p><p>Both of them nearly fall asleep during dinner, and he actually sends her upstairs to get ready for bed while he stacks their dishes in the wash basin and takes the remaining food back down to the cellar. By the time he gets back upstairs, he feels fatigue in every part of himself. He goes to her room to bid her good night, and he finds her sitting at her dressing table in her simple white nightdress, brush in her hand, sound asleep.</p><p>He shakes his head, going to her and reaching down to take the brush from her. He bumps against her as he does, and to his surprise, she jerks awake with a gasp, eyes wild as she brandishes the brush at him like it’s a weapon. He pulls back quickly, shocked. “Layla?”</p><p>“Ardeth?” She blinks, dropping the brush and wrapping her arms around herself. “I’m so sorry. You startled me.”</p><p>He kneels next to her where she sits. “Little one, what happened? You woke as if you were under attack.”</p><p>She shakes her head. She doesn’t want to tell him, to make him think she’s weak, to be a distraction because he’s worried about her. But one look at his concerned eyes, and her conviction on that dissipates immediately. “On the dig, we were supposed to stay at a small hotel, but the leader decided we’d be in tents. He tried to enter mine the first night; I made it very clear he wasn’t welcome. After that, I barely slept, sitting up at night, your knife in my hand.”</p><p>“Little one, you should have left, come back here and told Dr. Bey.” His brow furrows.</p><p>She shakes her head. “I cannot run every time this gets difficult, Ardeth. Had I done that, I would have simply proven every negative thing men say about women in this field.” She stands and starts to pace, suddenly agitated. “I have to prove myself again and again and again. To my father, to my professors, to Dr. Bey, to other men.” She stops and looks at him. “To you.” Before he can protest, she continues, “You do it from a place of concern, but most do it from a place of disdain. I cannot just run, not even when all of my instincts are telling me to, or I will lose every inch of credibility I have built.”</p><p>He stands and goes to her, letting her see his hands until she gives him a slight nod and moves into his arms. He hugs her close. “I am so sorry, little one. I did not intend to make you feel that way, and I understand. But please, did any of them hurt you?”</p><p>She shakes her head. “No. After the third one tried to get handsy and I left him with a nasty scar for his efforts, they all deemed me ‘not worth the trouble.’”</p><p>A wave of fatigue washes over her, and her knees give way. He catches her and lifts her up, carrying her to the bed. He places her on the edge of it, and he goes to the light and extinguishes it. He comes back to the bed and helps her recline back, tucking her in as Aziza did when she was a child. But she doesn’t want him to leave.</p><p>“Stay with me Ardeth.” Her hand comes out and grips his wrist. She can see his eyes widen in the dim light coming through the window. “Not for anything untoward. Just to sleep. I haven’t truly slept in nearly five weeks. Please.”</p><p>Observing her for a moment, he nods. She releases his wrist, and he goes around to the other side of the bed, climbing into it. The moment he settles, she moves, tucking herself against him. “Thank you.”</p><p>He feels rage inside, wanting to hunt down every one of those men and gut them, but he pushes that down, knowing it would only serve to further undermine her. But he visited the distant tribes for a reason, met with several of the elders over the last few days, with a specific purpose in mind, one he plans to discuss with her in the morning.</p><p>Her soft voice startles him. “What are you thinking about, Ardeth? You cannot say nothing, as you are completely tense. If this makes you uncomfortable, you do not have to stay with me.”</p><p>Her voice turns small and sad at the end, and he won’t tolerate that. “I have no desire to go, little one.” He slides down further in the bed, bringing them eye to eye. “I would have returned earlier, but I had something to discuss with the elders in each of the twelve tribes.”</p><p>“What was that?” She looks concerned.</p><p>He leans in and kisses her brow, making her relax, the worry lines smoothing out. He takes a deep breath. “Marrying an outsider.”</p><p>Her eyes widen this time. She bites her lip again, a habit he is coming to love. “And what did they say?”</p><p>“They were disapproving at first, but you had messages of support from Aziza and Dr. Bey, and when I told them of your work and your position on the treatment of our sites, they assented.” He brushes her hair back from her eyes. “So, might you be willing to assent as well?”</p><p>“Ardeth, are you asking me to marry you?” She feels tears come to her eyes.</p><p>“Rather poorly, it would seem, but yes. Layla Easton, will you be my wife?” He asks softly.</p><p>She burrows closer to him, and she says, “Yes, Ardeth Bay, I will.”</p><p>He leans in and kisses her gently, and he says, “Aziza will not let us hear the end of this.”</p><p>She laughs, but she’s already fading, feeling completely safe for the first time in over a month. In moments, she’s sound asleep, and he follows close behind her.</p><p>Late the next morning, Aziza returns. She’s surprised to see Ardeth’s horse in the stables, so she hurries inside. She realizes when she enters that the house is completely silent. She heads upstairs to put down her small bag, and she stops by the room where Ardeth would stay. She sees his bag there and his folded-up robes, but no Ardeth. She crosses to Layla’s bedroom, assuming the young woman and Ardeth went out to the market but wanting to be sure.</p><p>The sight that greets her eyes takes her by surprise, but that surprise melts into happiness almost immediately. Ardeth and Layla are curled together in the bed, both sound asleep. She knows she should be scandalized, but she isn’t.</p><p>She backs quietly out of the room. Her visiting friends last night were from one of the far tribes, and they’d told her that Ardeth had been circulating, seeking approval of the elders to marry an outsider. Aziza smiles as she goes down to the kitchen to prepare food for when they wake. “Time to plan a wedding, it would seem.”</p><p>X X X X X X X</p><p>
  <em>Two-and-a-Half Years Later, Early 1926</em>
</p><p>“Dr. Easton, there is someone here to see you.” Layla looks up from the documents she was translating, and she nods to her assistant, a young man from here in Cairo. She spins her wedding ring on her finger. While her name is now Bay, she goes by Easton here at the museum, honestly because having Dr. Bey call her Dr. Bay was damnably confusing.</p><p>She’s now the assistant curator of the museum, promoted by Dr. Bey when he was made curator. It caused a small uproar, particularly with the Bembridge Scholars, but he wasn’t having it. She now coordinates all digs for the museum as well as acquisitions.</p><p>“Show them in, Mr. Ibrahim.” She nods.</p><p>She hears him say, “Miss Carnahan? Dr. Easton will see you now,” and she jumps up, straightening her dark burgundy fitted dress, long-sleeved with a sheer burgundy matching shawl, as she rushes to her office door.</p><p>As she does, Evelyn enters, prim and proper as ever in her crisp, demure white blouse and long khaki skirt and dark brown heels. “Layla?”</p><p>Layla approaches the woman and hugs her. “Evy, it’s so good to see you!” She steps back. “Come in and sit!” She motions to the chairs in front of her desk. “Mr. Ibrahim, could you ask Mrs. Ali to bring up some tea?”</p><p>“Of course, Doctor.” The young man bows slightly at the waist, and he leaves. Evy looks impressed at the show of respect, but Layla knows that the young man is Medjai, training to be a historian and archeologist in the footsteps of Dr. Bey. He’ll be heading off to Oxford himself in a couple of years. Her status both here at the museum and within the Medjai as the wife of the Chieftain also feeds his respect.</p><p>Layla joins Evy, sitting next to her in the other chair in front of the desk. “How have you been, Evy?”</p><p>“Well, thank you.” Evy smiles shyly. “I am amazed that you are now assistant curator. I’ve met Dr. Bey, and he’s quite intimidating. I fear he only accepted me as a librarian here because of my family’s donations.”</p><p>Layla shakes her head. “He may be gruff, but he wouldn’t take you for that reason alone, Evy.”</p><p>“I appreciate that. I know how you feel about the Bembridge Scholars, but I’m still trying to gain acceptance there. I’m hoping my time here will help with that.” Evy frowns.</p><p>“Evy, I don’t begrudge you trying to grow in our field, as you know.” She smiles in conspiratorial way. “But I don’t recommend using me as a reference with them. I’d be happy to provide it, of course, but those old goats aren’t particularly fond of me, the female archeologist who bosses their people around as they try to coordinate digs and bring us artifacts and is half-Egyptian, half-American.”</p><p>An older Egyptian woman brings in a tray with a teapot and cups as they both laugh, and once she sets it down and Layla thanks her, she leaves. Layla goes to pour the tea, and Evy’s eyes widen. “You are married?”</p><p>Layla realizes that Evy saw her wedding band as she poured the tea. Layla nods. “Nearly two years now. Ardeth works out of Cairo most of the time, so it may be quite a while before he’s able to come by the museum. And yes, he’s from Egypt, one more reason the Bembridge Scholars don’t quite approve of me.”</p><p>“But the man called you Dr. Easton.” Evy looks confused.</p><p>Layla laughs. “Yes, that is what I go by here. The curator is Dr. Bey, B-E-Y. My husband’s last name is Bay, B-A-Y, pronounced the same way. It was far too confusing to have both of us by essentially the same name, so I remain Dr. Easton here at the museum, but I am Layla Bay everywhere else.”</p><p>“Ah.” Evy nods. “Congratulations, my friend. If I’d have known, I’d have brought a gift or had Jonathan find one for me to bring.” Layla sighs, and Evy looks apologetic. “Does he drive you mad, Layla? If he does, I can tell him to stop.”</p><p>Layla shakes her head. Jonathan Carnahan is a bit of a scoundrel and hopeless as an archeologist, but he’s mostly harmless. “No, it’s fine, Evy. He just shows up every few weeks with something he hopes is a real artifact. He comes to me because he knows me from my year at Oxford, when we met at your home for the holidays, and honestly because Dr. Bey won’t even see him anymore.”</p><p>They chat a while longer, and then Layla shows Evy to the library. When they arrive, Evy’s eyes widen, and Layla smiles as she watches the younger woman explore in wonder. “Will you be all right then, Evy?”</p><p>“Oh my, yes, Layla. Thank you.” She turns to her, eyes shining. Her expression softens. “You look happy here, Layla.”</p><p>Layla nods. “I am. I hope you will be as well. It will be nice to have a friend here, especially when Ardeth is away.”</p><p>Evy comes back over to her. “Is he gone right now? Would you care to have dinner tonight?”</p><p>“He is, and that would be lovely.” Layla nods, surprised by how happy she is to see the younger woman.</p><p>“What does he do, Layla? For work?” Evy asks, clearly trying to be polite even as she drifts back to the books.</p><p>Without missing a beat, Layla provides the response she, Ardeth, and Dr. Bey agreed on two years ago. “He runs a group providing security to ancient sites.”</p><p>“Oh, that must be interesting.” Evy says absently, already lost to the books.</p><p>Layla swallows a smile. “It is indeed. See you tonight, Evy.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Monster Rises</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Layla and Ardeth get good news, a friend makes a discovery, and chaos ensues.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Author’s Note: And the movies and action finally tie in. This is a little shorter than before (still 4K+ words, though), but it was a good place to stop.</p><p>Disclaimer per usual – I do not own The Mummy, just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me. Starting with this chapter, I do borrow dialogue from the movie in patches, with minor variations.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Four Months Later</em>
</p><p>Layla looks up with a smile as she hears the sound of hooves outside the house. She knew Ardeth would be getting here today because Aziza disappeared this morning, muttering something about going to visit one of the tribes nearest to Cairo. She’s anxious to see him – he has been gone nearly eight weeks this time, trying to track down a man who has been marketing himself as having been to the City of the Dead and luring treasure hunters into the desert and abandoning them.</p><p>The Medjai are largely fine with the abandonments, something that makes Layla uncomfortable but also that she understands. Those fools are adults with far more money than sense. But if the man has truly been to Hamunaptra, the Medjai will do what they can to dissuade him right up to ending his life if needs be. Once she agreed to marry Ardeth, they’d spent the next days together, most of it with him explaining, sometimes with Aziza’s help, the ways of the Medjai.</p><p>At first, she’d been taken aback at some of the methods of the tribes. But the more they told her, the more they explained, she began to understand. While she knows she isn’t cut out to be a warrior as they are, her sword skills have improved steadily, she’s very handy with a knife or gun, and she has become an excellent rider. She’d been able to ride before meeting Ardeth, but her own brown mare is now more like a friend than a mode of transport, though recent events have made her sad to realize she won’t be riding again for a while.</p><p>She walks out to the stables to meet Ardeth, bringing a large bucket of water for his horse. She pours it into the trough as Ardeth brushes the beautiful animal down, and when he’s done, he turns to her with a smile. He comes over to Layla and wraps his arm around her waist. Leaning down, he kisses her soundly, backing her into the wall of the stable. A moment later, his horse whinnies and huffs, making them jump apart, laughing.</p><p>“How long can you stay, nuri?” She looks up at him when they stop laughing. She’s been calling him nuri, my light, every now and then since their wedding, in particular when they’re reunited after being apart.</p><p>“I’ve planned a full week.” He smiles down at her.</p><p>She makes a happy sound and hugs him around the waist. A week will be the longest they’ve been together in over a year. His arm embraces her shoulders, pulling her close so he can drop a kiss to the top of her head. “That sounds lovely. I need to get word to Dr. Bey.”</p><p>He releases her and takes her hand, walking over to get his bag before they head into the house hand-in-hand. “No need, little one, unless you need to tell him where something is in your office. I had to drop by and pass him a message from his tribe, and he knows that when I show up here you don’t show up there.”</p><p>She rolls her eyes. “You know what he thinks we are doing right now, do you not?” She looks up at him, arching an eyebrow.</p><p>They get inside and he kicks the door closed and drops his bag before scooping her up and heading for the stairs, her laughing in his arms. He kisses her neck, sucking gently at the pulse point behind her ear before murmuring, “In about one minute, he will be correct.”</p><p>Well over half an hour later, they both are in their bed, naked, covered only by a sheet. She is partially draped over him, tracing the tattoos on his torso with her fingertips. She drops a light kiss to his shoulder. “I missed you.”</p><p>“This was too long apart this time,” he grumbles, “I wish the damned treasure hunters would realize what a deadly endeavor it is to seek the City of the Dead and just stop trying.”</p><p>She sighs. “There’s little chance of that, I’m afraid.” She perches her chin on his chest, looking up at him. Her tone turns serious. “There’s something I need to tell you, though.”</p><p>He slides down in the bed as he often does for them to talk, making them eye-to-eye. “What is it? Is everything all right?”</p><p>She nods. “Yes, it’s fine. Wonderful, even.” She takes his hand and kisses it before moving it downward with her own. She stretches her palm out flat, and he follows her lead. Their hands settle on top of the sheet, his palm out flat on her lower abdomen. She covers his hand with hers and gives him a meaningful look.</p><p>He furrows his brow, but then his eyes widen. “Layla, are you?”</p><p>She nods, tears coming to her eyes. “I am. The doctor confirmed yesterday. I haven’t had a monthly since ten days or so before your last visit, so I am likely about two months along.”</p><p>“When did you suspect?” He frowns, not the reaction she was expecting.</p><p>“Two weeks ago, even three. But I waited until I’d missed my monthly twice before talking to the doctor. Only he knows, and now you. I didn’t even mention it to Aziza yet, as I wanted to tell you first.” He continues to look worried, and she shakes her head. “I am fine, Ardeth. I feel fine. A little nausea when I wait too long to eat and needing to rest sometimes in the afternoon. Otherwise, nothing.”</p><p>He nods, but he still looks concerned. “But we just,” he swallows hard, “Could that hurt the baby?”</p><p>She smiles and cups his cheek in her hand. “No. The doctor was quite scandalized when I asked, but while he muttered about it being improper, he conceded that it doesn’t hurt anything.” She rolls her eyes. “When he left, his nurse, a woman, gave me a lot of advice from her perspective both as a nurse and a mother. She told me to have fun now, as we won’t have much time for it for a while after this one arrives.”</p><p>He finally seems to relax, and his eyes seem fixated on their hands over her stomach. It’s still mostly flat, but from how his hand moves, she can tell that he’s noticing that it is taking on a slightly more firm and rounded shape. It’ll likely be at least another six or eight weeks before she starts to obviously show, though.</p><p>“Ardeth, is this all right? You’re not upset, are you?” She’s suddenly worried. They haven’t talked about children much at all. She wonders if he worries they’ll be an even more significant distraction for him.</p><p>His eyes snap up to hers. He suddenly feels terrible for not first responding with happiness. “I’m sorry, little one.” He leans in and kisses her. “Of course this is all right. It is a blessing and wonderful news. I already worry about you when I am not here, but I apologize for letting that stop me from telling you how happy I am to hear this.”</p><p>She snuggles into him, letting his arms wrap around her. “I’m so glad. I’ve been so happy, even if terrified, and I want you to be happy as well.”</p><p>“Why are you terrified, little one?” He hugs her close.</p><p>“My mother died having me, Ardeth. I’m just afraid of leaving you to have to raise our child without me. I want to meet him or her, you know?” She takes a shaky breath. “She died in this very house. Did you know that?”</p><p>He shakes his head. “I didn’t realize, and I don’t know how to help you with this, Layla.” He buries his face in her shoulder. “Please tell me how I can help you.”</p><p>She takes another shaky breath. “This. By doing this. By asking to help. I think the most important part is not feeling like I’m trying to do this all alone.”</p><p>He pulls back, meeting her eyes. “You aren’t. When I cannot be here, Aziza will be. And I’ll warn you, little one, I’ll likely be even more protective now.”</p><p>“I rather expected that.” She shrugs, then smiles. “But I notice that you haven’t tried to tell me to quit working.”</p><p>“That’s because I’d rather not have my wife coming after me with my own sword,” he replies archly.</p><p>She snorts. “Wise man.”</p><p>X X X X X X X</p><p>
  <em>Four Weeks Later</em>
</p><p>A loud crash makes Layla look up sharply from the expedition proposal she was reviewing. She jumps up from her desk, running in the direction of the noise, which sounded like it came from the library. By the time she arrives, she hears Dr. Bey yelling, “My girl, when Rameses destroyed Syria, that was an accident. You are a catastrophe!”</p><p>He then yells at Evy to clean it up and is leaving as Layla enters the library, nearly falling as she trips over a book. “Layla!” Dr. Bey catches her even as she braces herself on a downed shelf, calling by her first name as he has since she demanded it at her wedding to Ardeth. “I’m sorry, Dr. Easton. Are you all right?”</p><p>She straightens up and exchanges a look with him. Ardeth’s one request with regard to her continuing to work was that she tell Dr. Bey that she is pregnant. He’s now nearly as protective as Ardeth and Aziza are. “I’m fine, Doctor.” She glances at Evy, who looks mortified. Layla turns and gestures to Dr. Bey to follow her into the hallway. “I’ll handle this with Miss Carnahan, Terence.”</p><p>He nods, clearly exasperated. “Thank you. She’s a bright young woman, but she’s also challenging.” His expression softens. “But please be careful in that mess. Your husband will use that sword of his on me if I let you get hurt in my museum.”</p><p>She laughs softly and squeezes his shoulder. Dr. Bey has become something of a gruff uncle to her these last couple of years. “I promise to protect you from Ardeth. One stern look from me or Aziza, and he relents.” She drops a hand to her stomach and gives him a mischievous look. “Especially now. He pretty much does anything I ask.”</p><p>Dr. Bey chuckles, turning to head to his office. “May Allah have mercy on that poor man.”</p><p>She smiles as he goes, and then she turns to the library with a sigh. She heads in, gingerly stepping over the books and furniture. Evy stands there, wringing her hands. “I’m so sorry, Layla. Dr. Bey was very angry.”</p><p>Layla can’t argue with her. “It’s all right, Evy. I’ll send up some of the men from maintenance to assist you with the clean up. You’ll have to re-shelve the books, though, my friend.” She resists the urge to put her hand on her stomach again – Dr. Bey knows about the baby, but Evy does not, as she’s just not telling many people yet. Layla squeezes Evy’s shoulder much as she did Dr. Bey’s. “I’ll see you later, Evy. I’ll go get the workers sent up and then go make sure things are smoothed over with Dr. Bey.”</p><p>“Thank you, Layla.” She sighs, turning back to the mess.</p><p>It’s thirty minutes later when Layla ends up in Dr. Bey’s office, and she drops into one of his guest chairs with a sigh. He is still scowling. “She means well, Terence.”</p><p>“I know, Layla.” He sighs. “But even you must admit that the woman can be a walking disaster.”</p><p>Layla is about to reply when a commotion in the hallway makes both her and Dr. Bey tense. Two people are coming into the office, and Layla frowns when she sees that it’s Evy and her brother Jonathan rushing in. Evy looks breathless. “Layla, there you are! Look at this!”</p><p>Evy brings her a clearly very old piece of parchment. Dr. Bey’s eyes widen, and Layla sees him frown even more so than before. She looks down at the parchment, and her breath catches. She rises and brings it to Dr. Bey, sharing a worried look with him. Evy comes over. “See the cartouche there? It’s the official royal seal of Seti the First, I’m sure of it.”</p><p>Jonathan asks after who Seti the First was, making Layla roll her eyes at the idea that the man claims to be an Egyptologist. As Evy explains to her brother who Seti was, Dr. Bey and Layla have a silent conversation. Evy interrupts it, saying, “I’ve already dated the map, it’s almost three thousand years old, and if you look at the hieratic just here, well, it’s Hamunaptra.”</p><p>“Dear God, don’t be ridiculous,” Dr. Bey says, throwing down the magnifying glass he’d been holding.</p><p>Layla feels sick in the pit of her stomach, and she tries to dissuade her young friend. “Evy, we’re scholars, not treasure hunters.”</p><p>Dr. Bey nods. “Hamunaptra’s a myth, told by ancient Arab storytellers to amuse Greek and Roman tourists.”</p><p>Evy is determined, though. “I know all the blather about the city being protected by the curse of a mummy nonsense, but my research has led me to believe that the city itself may have actually existed.”</p><p>“Are we talking about the Hamunaptra?” Jonathan asks, his eyes shining.</p><p>“Yes. The City of the Dead,” Evy confirms.</p><p>They begin to talk about the city again, stepping in front of the desk and leaving Layla and Dr. Bey there with the map. Layla watches Evy and Jonathan, and then she gently slides the oil lamp on Dr. Bey’s desk closer to him. He nods, and pretends to examine the map, getting the edge close to the flames. He says gruffly, “As the Americans would say, it’s all fairy tales and hokum.” In moments, the map is alight, the ancient parchment burning quickly. “Oh my goodness! Look at that!” Dr. Bey drops the parchment, and burning, it falls to the floor in front of his desk.</p><p>Jonathan and Evy drop to their knees in a panic, putting the fire out. Jonathan complains, “You’ve burnt it! You’ve burnt off the part with the lost city!”</p><p>Layla shakes her head. “It’s for the best, I’m sure.”</p><p>Dr. Bey nods again. “Many men have wasted their lives in the foolish pursuit of Hamunaptra. No one’s ever found it.”</p><p>Layla chimes in, “Most have never returned.”</p><p>Evy and Jonathan give them both looks that are nearly accusatory, and they leave in a huff. Layla goes to follow Evy, but she stops in the doorway, hearing Evy and Jonathan talking quietly. She peers out the door, and they leave looking very purposeful. Layla sighs and shakes her head. She re-enters the office. “Terence, we need to contact Ardeth now.”</p><p>He nods. “I’d let you go, my dear, but he’d again have my head with that sword of his if you got on a horse right now for anything less than to avoid the apocalypse.”</p><p>She gives him a pointed look, and he snorts. “Poor choice of words. I’ll go out to the nearest camp. Can you go talk to Miss Carnahan? Maybe you can persuade her that this is utter foolishness. If you cannot, you know we will do whatever is needed to stop them.”</p><p>Layla swallows hard. For her, this is the difficult part of being entwined with the Medjai, no matter how much she agrees with their cause. She knows that while the methods are extreme, so are the dangers they are trying to contain. She nods, and as he leaves, Dr. Bey squeezes her shoulder as she had his earlier. Once he’s gone, she rubs her hand across her eyes and murmurs, “Do your best, Layla, but you cannot, in the end, protect people from themselves.”</p><p>That night, Layla goes to see Evy at her apartment at the fort. She does all that she can to persuade her, but the young woman is adamant, instead even trying to get Layla to come with them. Layla feels bad, but she feels herself harden at that, her allegiance to the Medjai, Ardeth, and the safety of all of them, her own child in particular taking over.</p><p>“Evy, do not do this. Do not go. You are endangering yourself, Jonathan, this American guide you’ve found, and anyone else you drag with you.” At Evy’s determined expression, Layla shakes her head, going to the door. “You and Jonathan seek the same thing. Treasure at the expense of all else.” When Evy starts to argue, looking outraged, Layla just holds up her hand. “His treasure is gold. Yours is the good opinion of the Bembridge Scholars. It’s about personal gain, Evelyn, no matter how you try to justify it.”</p><p>She barely sleeps that night, tossing and turning and worrying over Ardeth, the Medjai, and over the idea that Evy and Jonathan might succeed, a thought that makes her ill. Aziza, who she told over dinner, ends up sitting up with her, brushing her hair back as she dozes fitfully.</p><p>X X X X X X X</p><p>
  <em>One Week Later</em>
</p><p>Standing in Dr. Bey’s office at the museum, Layla shakes her head. “Terence, what are we going to do? I know you heard that Ardeth is on his way, but can we do anything in the meantime?” She peers out the window, swallowing hard at the sight of the darkening sky at the horizon in the middle of the afternoon.</p><p>“I don’t know, Layla. They’ve released the creature, the fools. I don’t know if there is anything we are able to do.” Dr. Bey shakes his head, looking more defeated than she’s ever seen him.</p><p>Layla goes to the window, watching the sky. A moment later, she hears Dr. Bey splutter and say, “It has begun.”</p><p>She turns, eyes widening when she sees Dr. Bey staring into a teacup full of blood. A cry from outside makes her look out the window again. She says, “Oh my God,” at the sight of literal fire falling from the sky.</p><p>Dr. Bey comes up behind her, and he blinks and breathes out, “Hafazna Allah.”</p><p>She nods. “May Allah protect us indeed.” Then, the clatter of hooves makes her look down, and she gasps and runs for the door. She’s almost to the top of the stairs, about to go down, when she sees Ardeth coming up quickly, taking the stairs two at a time.</p><p>She waits for him, and a moment later, she’s wrapped up in his arms. “Nuri,” she murmurs. She pulls away quickly, looking him up and down. “Are you all right?”</p><p>“Yes. Are you?” His hand lands on her slight bump, well disguised by her tunic. “Both of you?”</p><p>“We are both well, Ardeth.” She leans in, kissing him quickly before pressing her face to his neck. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t convince Evy that this was a fool’s errand.”</p><p>He shakes his head, pulling her close. He’d ridden hard to get here, both to talk to Dr. Bey but also to see her and get her counsel as well. The sight of her, worried but radiant in her dark maroon pants, tunic, and scarves, the pendant bearing the symbol of their now-shared people around her neck, gave him renewed determination to defeat the monster. He kisses her temple. “Nonsense, little one. This was not anyone’s fault but theirs.”</p><p>She nods, finding his hand with hers. He taps her wedding ring with his finger, and she does the same to his wrist. He prefers to not wear a ring as she does; he instead has a small tattoo of her name in Arabic on his wrist, usually covered with a wrap. They hear Dr. Bey clear his throat behind them, and he leads them to one of the artifact rooms. “What can we do, Ardeth?”</p><p>“Terence, I am not sure. I do not believe that the creature is fully regenerated. He may still be vulnerable.” Ardeth frowns. “But we do not know for certain how to kill him.”</p><p>“How did they revive him, Ardeth?” Layla asks, “Did they find the Book of the Dead?”</p><p>“Yes,” he confirms, “And the woman with them read from it.”</p><p>“Damn it, Evy.” Layla feels ill again.</p><p>Dr. Bey shakes his head. “Does it have any weaknesses?”</p><p>Ardeth shrugs. “Cats? But that is temporary. They repel him, but he’ll return.”</p><p>Layla snaps her fingers. “The Book of the Living.” The two men look at her. “Amongst the rumors of Hamunaptra is the notion of balance. If there is a Book of the Dead, maybe there is a Book of the Living.”</p><p> “All right. So we need to figure out where that might be.” Dr. Bey nods. “But the primary goal is to try to delay or even prevent his regeneration.”</p><p>Layla is about to ask how they do that when she hears Evy’s voice in the hallway. “There’s only one person that can possibly give us any answers.”</p><p>Evy, Jonathan, and three men Layla doesn’t recognize round the corner as Ardeth immediately moves to shield her with his much-larger body. “You!” Evy exclaims, and the men all pull weapons.</p><p>Dr. Bey greets them. “Miss Carnahan, Gentlemen.”</p><p>Evy looks coolly at Dr. Bey, and asks, “What is he doing here?”</p><p>Layla tenses, irritated at Evy’s tone. She steps out from behind Ardeth as Dr. Bey replies, “Do you really want to know?”</p><p>Fully visible, the men’s guns tracking the new movement, Layla puts one hand on Ardeth and the other on her stomach, narrowing her eyes as she deadpans, “Or would you prefer to just shoot us?”</p><p>Evy gasps, and the tallest man puts his gun away, replying, “After what I just saw, I’m willing to go on a little faith here.”</p><p>The other men follow his lead, and Evy approaches Layla. “Evy, I warned you. Why did you not listen? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Why on earth would you read from the Book of the Dead?”</p><p>Evy drops her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Layla.” She looks back at her, and then at Ardeth looming behind her. “Who are you?” This time her voice is simply curious.</p><p>Layla reaches back and takes his hand again. “Ardeth, this is Evelyn Carnahan. Evy, this is Ardeth Bay, Chieftain of the twelve tribes of the Medjai and my husband.”</p><p>Evy’s mouth drops open, and Ardeth squeezes her hand. He then inclines his head at Evy. “Miss Carnahan. I hope you will forgive me if I am not pleased to meet you given the circumstances.”</p><p>Evy nods sheepishly. “I understand.”</p><p>They all move into the exhibit space, and Dr. Bey gestures to himself and then Ardeth as he begins, “We are part of an ancient secret society. For over three thousand years, we have guarded the City of the Dead. We are sworn at manhood to do any and all in our part to stop the High Priest Imhotep from being reborn into this world.”</p><p>Ardeth glowers and adds, “Now because of you, we have failed.”</p><p>Evy sounds outraged. “And you think this justifies the killing of innocent people?”</p><p>Dr. Bey replies, “To stop this creature? Let me think.”</p><p>He pauses, and then Dr. Bey, Ardeth, and Layla all say, “Yes!”</p><p>Evy walks slightly away, a troubled look on her face. The man who introduced himself as Rick O’Connell says, “Question. Why doesn’t he like cats?”</p><p>Layla begins, “Cats are the guardians of the underworld.”</p><p>“He will fear them until he is fully regenerated,” Dr. Bey explains.</p><p>“And then he will fear nothing.” Ardeth glares at them all, and she can feel the anger rolling off of him in waves.</p><p>Layla turns to him and moves him aside slightly, taking both of his hands in hers, locking eyes with him and trying to help him calm down as the Americans and Dr. Bey discuss the creature. After a moment, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, murmuring, “Thank you, little one.”</p><p>She can feel a little of his tension melt away. She’s about to reply when she hears Evy say that the creature called her Anck-Su-Namun and tried to kiss her. She turns back to look at Evy, and Ardeth steps up right behind her, his arm slinging around her enough for his palm to stretch out flat on her small bump. They both exchange a look with Dr. Bey, who says, “It’s because of his love for Anck-Su-Namun that he was cursed. Apparently after three thousand years –”</p><p>Exchanging a look with Ardeth, Layla finishes, “He’s still in love with her.”</p><p>Evy says, “Yes, that is very romantic, but what has it got to do with me?”</p><p>“Perhaps he will once again try to raise her from the dead.” Ardeth looks at Dr. Bey.</p><p>Dr. Bey replies, “Yes, and it appears he’s already chosen his human sacrifice.”</p><p>They all turn and look at Evy. Layla has to roll her eyes when Jonathan says, “Bad luck, old mum.”</p><p>Dr. Bey rises from where he sits. “On the contrary, it may just give us the time we need to kill the creature.”</p><p>Ardeth nudges her, and she looks up at him. He’s looking up, and she follows his eyes. He says, “We will need all the help we can get. His powers are growing.”</p><p>Layla tucks herself into his side as she watches the sun go into full eclipse, and he pulls her close, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. She closes her eyes as Jonathan, suddenly serious, recites, “And he stretched forth his hand towards the heavens, and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Reckoning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>As the creature regenerates, he seeks out Evy to return to Hamunaptra and bring back Anck-Su-Namun, and Layla ends up in the cross-fire.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Author’s Note: And here we are, at the meat of the movie!</p><p>Disclaimer per usual – I do not own The Mummy, just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me. Starting with this chapter, I do borrow dialogue from the movie in patches, with minor variations.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Layla, I want you to go home. Aziza can take you to one of our tribes.” Ardeth stands in front of her, and she can tell he is trying his best to intimidate her into compliance, though out of care.</p><p>“No.” Layla shakes her head. She takes Ardeth’s hands in her own before he can argue. “Nowhere will be safe, Ardeth. You know that. And honestly, once he is regenerated, do you not think that the Medjai will be the first targets?” He furrows his brow at her, and she can see that he’s at war with himself. She squeezes his hands. “I feel safest here with you and Terence, at least for now. I don’t particularly fancy braving the streets right now, and I also want to avoid getting on a horse to go home. I walked here, and I’m certainly not walking back.”</p><p>He sighs, nodding. “All right, and fair points – after literal fire fell from the sky, I am not sure any of us want to be out there. I had a few very close calls on my way here myself.”</p><p>Dr. Bey went off to do some additional research on the Book of the Living, so she and Ardeth went to her office, where they are now, Ardeth and Terence both insisting that she get off of her feet for a while. She honestly is at a loss on where to find information on the fabled Gold book – Evy is actually far more knowledgeable on this particular piece of history. But she left with the Americans and Jonathan, determined to find the Egyptologist.</p><p>Ardeth hadn’t offered to go with them, and they hadn’t asked. She can tell that he is wary of them just as they are of him, though it occurs to her from watching Mr. O’Connell that he isn’t terribly different from her husband. But now, she can also tell that he is at loose ends a bit. She releases one of his hands, leading him across the room to the sofa that Terence had put in here for her. Ardeth motions to it. “Lie down, little one.”</p><p>She shakes her head. “You first.” He frowns, so she says, “You’re clearly, at least to me, exhausted. You’re probably going to have to fight an ancient, cursed mummy come to life. I’m just growing a baby, something women have done without coddling for centuries. You need to rest, too, and you take up more room than me and probably want the line of sight to the door, so you first.”</p><p>He chuckles, holding up his hands in defeat. He had fallen in love with her because of her strong will, not in spite of it, and he loves her even more for it now after having her as his wife for two years. He removes his sword and headdress, placing the sword on the back the sofa. He sits and stretches out on his side, back to the cushions, resting his head on the pillow at the end and holding his arms out. She smiles and lies down with him, snuggling into him as he wraps his arms around her. “Happy?”</p><p>She tucks her face into his neck. “Quite.” Then, the humorous moment passes. “What’s going to happen, Ardeth? I don’t want to lose you to this. I cannot do this by myself.”</p><p>“I’ll do everything I can to be here with you, but if I cannot, you’ll have Aziza, little one.” He tries to comfort her.</p><p>“It’s not the same.” She clings to him. “And I fear that if we cannot stop this monster, we’ll all be lost to him or his followers.”</p><p>He hugs her closer, not saying anything. There isn’t much that he can say. He cannot yet concede in his heart that she’s probably right. He feels her relax slightly against him, falling asleep as night falls outside, though it’s obviously fitful.</p><p>He doesn’t sleep himself, staying mostly on guard. He feels like they’re in the calm eye of the storm, but he’s going to enjoy it, however brief if is. He brushes his lips across her forehead and closes his eyes, one arm around Layla and the other moving to rest on the sword on the back of the sofa, ready to protect her if he needs to.</p><p>He’s dozing a little over an hour later when he hears sounds outside. He doesn’t want to wake Layla, but he knows their quiet moment is over. “Little one, wake up.” He nudges her gently.</p><p>Her eyes blink open, and she peers up at him, her green eyes taking his breath away as much as they always have. Every instinct he has is telling him to take her and get out of here, breaking every oath he’s made except the one to her, and the fact that he knows he won’t, knows he will stay and fight with her, and by extension his child, in the crossfire almost makes him physically ill.</p><p>As if she can read his mind, she stands up and holds her hands out. Pulling him to his feet, she then grabs his sword and hands it to him. “I knew the way of things when I fell in love with you, Ardeth, and you said it yourself – your oath as Chieftain of the Medjai is as much a part of you as anything else. It is who you are, and I love you for it.” She lifts the leg of her pants, showing him the knife he gave her, tucked into a sheath in her boot. “We fight. We protect ourselves by protecting the world from this monster.”</p><p>“You do not have to fight, Layla. That is not expected.” He shakes his head.</p><p>She turns around, shifting her hair and tunic out of the way, baring her right shoulder. “I got this before we were even married, Ardeth. Do you think I will just stand by when the one thing that our people,” she emphasizes the “our”, “Are sworn to protect is upon us?”</p><p>He lays the sword back down, and he puts his hands on her upper arms, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the tattoo of the Medjai symbol on her right shoulder. It matches the necklace Aziza gave her years ago, but prior to their wedding, she requested a more permanent marker of her commitment to him and the Medjai. She got it at the same time he had her name inked on his wrist. “I love you, little one.”</p><p>She drops her hair and turns back around, leaning up to kiss him. When his arms go around her back, holding her to him to prolong it, she doesn’t mind at all. They separate a moment later when they hear footsteps in the hallway.</p><p>Ardeth releases her and goes to put on his sword again, and she picks up his headdress. He’s putting it on as Dr. Bey knocks on the doorframe to her office. Layla motions him in. “Terence, any luck figuring out where the other book might be, or if it even exists?”</p><p>He shakes his head, entering Layla’s office. “No. I need Miss Carnahan; you were right, Layla, in that she probably knows more about this than us. I think she’s obsessed with it.”</p><p>Layla laughs softly. “Yes, she rather is.” Layla feels a bit bad about how hard she was on Evy earlier. She’s frustrated with her friend, but she knows she could have been a little kinder.</p><p>At that moment, they hear the sound of a car outside, easily identifiable because cars aren’t terribly common here yet and because most people seem to be hiding out after fire rained from the sky. Ardeth goes to the window and he observes, “We’ll get that help now. Miss Carnahan and her friends have returned, but one of the Americans is missing.”</p><p>He looks back at them, and they all exchange a worried sigh. That doesn’t bode well. They head down together to the main floor, and as they get there, Evy, Jonathan, Mr. O’Connell, and one of the Americans, Mr. Daniels as Layla recalls, enter. Layla goes to Evy, who is talking excitedly to Mr. O’Connell about a gold book. Layla joins them, and she says, “Do you think there is a Book of the Living?”</p><p>Evy nods. “I do.”</p><p>Mr. O’Connell says, “All right, help me catch up here, ladies.”</p><p>“Of course. I need the large stone on the second floor.” Evy’s words make Dr. Bey’s eyes light up, and he motions to them and heads up the stairs with Ardeth, Evy, Layla, Mr. O’Connell and the others following as Evy goes on, “Well, according to legend, the black book the Americans found at Hamunaptra is supposed to bring people back from the dead. Until now, it was a notion I was unwilling to believe.”</p><p>O’Connell growls, “Believe it, sister. That’s what brought our buddy back to life.”</p><p>Evy nods. “Yes. I’m thinking that if the black book can bring dead people to life –”</p><p>Layla finishes, “Then maybe the gold book can kill him?”</p><p>They all stop, and Evy replies, “That’s the myth. Now we just have to find out where the gold book is hidden.”</p><p>They all get to the top of the stairs, about to go to the large stone there, when chanting from outside draws them to the window. Both Layla and Evy gasp at the sight of what looks like a horde of zombies armed with torches and weapons, chanting Imhotep’s name. Jonathan says, “Last but not least, my favorite plague: boils and sores.”</p><p>Ardeth takes Layla’s hand, saying, “They have become his slaves. So it has begun, the beginning of the end.”</p><p>Evy shakes her head. “Not quite yet it hasn’t. Come on.”</p><p>They go to the stone block. With help from Layla and Dr. Bey and annoying prodding from Jonathan and O’Connell, the former of which scurries out to get their car ready to go, Evy finally finds the answer, that the book is inside the statue of Horus at Hamunaptra. They can hear the zombie-like people pouring through the doors downstairs, so all of them run, Ardeth tugging Layla along, making sure she doesn’t trip.</p><p>The car, which Jonathan has started, is small. Evy and O’Connell get in the front, but, with an apology, Layla ends up perched nearly on Dr. Bey’s lap, wedged between him and the American, Mr. Daniels, between him and Ardeth. By explanation, she says, “Terence, we need Ardeth able to fight. He can’t very well do that if he’s worrying over me, can he?”</p><p>He snorts and shakes his head. As they all get situated, a small man comes out, clearly not a zombie, and he alerts Imhotep and his slaves of their presence. While they pull away, O’Connell yells at the man, apparently called Beni, that he’ll get his. Layla grumbles, “He damn well will,” making Dr. Bey snort again.</p><p>That leads to a wild ride through the alleys of Cairo. Ardeth and O’Connell have to fight off the slaves essentially throwing themselves on the car. Dr. Bey and Evy also fight as much as they can. Mr. Daniels just tries to get out of the way. Layla herself pushes several of the slaves off of the car, but one pushes her back, holding her as two of them grab Mr. Daniels.</p><p>The man yells for O’Connell, and Layla does the same for Ardeth. She finally pushes the slave off of her, sending the poor man crashing to the street, and she lunges towards Mr. Daniels, but she just misses getting a hold on him as he tumbles backwards out of the car. “Mr. Daniels!”</p><p>She watches in horror as he is cornered, shooting at the slaves. “We have to help him!” She feels tears spring to her eyes as the slaves part and Imhotep approaches, and she knows they can’t save him. Jonathan floors it, and they tear away.</p><p>She sinks onto the seat, tears on her face, and Ardeth settles next to her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her to him. Evy and O’Connell look equally as horrified, and even Dr. Bey mutters, “Damnation,” when they hear Mr. Daniels scream.</p><p>More slaves jump on the car, and Jonathan loses control, the car slamming into a stone water fountain, and the car is caught. They all get out as the slaves close in on them, O’Connell grabbing one of the torches, holding them back. Ardeth gets her behind him and Dr. Bey as Imhotep comes through the crowd, and Dr. Bey says, “It’s the creature. He’s fully regenerated.”</p><p>Imhotep holds his hand out to Evy, speaking in Ancient Egyptian, telling Evy to join him. The man called Beni incorrectly translates, and Evy corrects him and calls him an idiot. Imhotep surveys them all, but his eyes land on Layla. He then says something that make her blood run cold. Even Beni hesitates before he says, “Both his princess and the mother must join us.”</p><p>Layla looks at Ardeth, eyes wide. Evy mutters, “What mother?” She then looks at Layla, who has a hand on her stomach protectively, and she whispers, “Layla?” Layla just nods, and Evy says, “Oh my God. No. No, Layla.”</p><p>Imhotep speaks again, and Beni translates, “Take my hands, and I will spare your friends.”</p><p>Evy says, “Oh dear.” She looks at O’Connell. “Have you got any bright ideas?”</p><p>“I’m thinking, I’m thinking.” O’Connell replies.</p><p>Evy says, “You better think of something fast, because if he turns me into a mummy, you’re the first one I’m coming after.”</p><p>Imhotep looks directly at Layla and speaks, Beni once again translating, “Your child will not be harmed. They will be my most loyal follower.”</p><p>Layla swallows hard, and then she grabs Evy’s hand. She looks at Ardeth. “Come for us. He needs Evy and he wants the baby. He won’t hurt us.” Ardeth looks equal parts horrified and thunderous, but she just says softly, “Nuri, trust us. Please. And come for us.” She takes her Medjai necklace off, pressing it into his hand. “I’d rather he not know I’m associated with the Medjai.”</p><p>He swallows hard, but he nods. He knows she’s right about all of it, but that doesn’t mean he likes it. He feels ready to tear the creature apart with his bare hands, but he knows that trying will be suicide. O’Connell is clearly less sure of that, because when she and Evy step towards Imhotep, he pulls his gun, saying, “No.”</p><p>Evy turns, saying, “Don’t!” as Ardeth grabs his arm to try and stop him. She goes on, “He still has to take us to Hamunaptra to perform the ritual, and he clearly wants Layla and her baby.”</p><p>Ardeth says, “She is right. Live today, fight tomorrow.”</p><p>O’Connell puts his gun away, lowering his torch towards Imhotep. “I’ll be seeing you again.” Ardeth has to hold the man back as they move away, but his eyes never leave hers.</p><p>He says, loud enough for her to hear, “Allahu Ma’ana, little one. I love you, and we will come.”</p><p>She nods, and she realizes she has tears on her face. “I love you.”</p><p>Imhotep roughly grabs her arm as they move away, dragging both her and Evy. She hears O’Connell say Evy’s name and Jonathan protest something being taken from him. As they go through the crowd of slaves, moving away from the men, in Ancient Egyptian, “Kill them all.”</p><p>The slaves converge as Evy yells, “No! Let go of me!”</p><p>Layla yells the same, actually in Ancient Egyptian, but Imhotep keeps going with a sneering smirk on his face. She hears the sound of a grate being moved, and she then hears the sound of a man screaming in pain as the slaves yell. It’s all too much for Layla and her already very-compromised emotions, largely thanks to the combination of this day and her raging hormones. She wilts, fainting, and everything fades to black.</p><p>Little does she know that the screaming she heard was Dr. Bey, not Ardeth. As he moves through the sewer with Jonathan and O’Connell, he clutches Layla’s necklace and mutters a prayer, both for the soul of his friend and tribesman and for the safety of his wife and their unborn child. All he knows is that he will secure their safety or die trying.</p><p>As they emerge from the sewer and O’Connell directs them to the fort in order to get more weapons and another car, he looks at Ardeth. “Your wife is pregnant?”</p><p>Ardeth nods as they rush through the now-deserted streets. “Just over three months.” He peers at O’Connell. “And you’re in love with Miss Carnahan.” O’Connell snorts and shakes his head, but Ardeth notes that he doesn’t deny it. He looks over at Jonathan, and he’s reminded that Evelyn is his sister. “We will get them back, Mr. Carnahan.”</p><p>“How are you so certain?” Jonathan asks forlornly.</p><p>They get to the fort, and he levels a look at Jonathan. “Because we know where they are going, and we know what we need to kill him. He’ll regret ever even touching Evelyn and Layla.”</p><p>O’Connell reaches over, squeezing his shoulder, and it occurs to him that he and O’Connell aren’t as different as Ardeth first assumed. The tall American then growls, “Damned right, and I’m going to enjoy killing him.”</p><p>Ardeth is a man who kills and fights for a cause, but he finds himself in agreement with O’Connell. He has never rejoiced in death before, but if it is Imhotep’s death, he will.</p><p>X X X X X X X</p><p>Layla awakens to the strangest sensation. She feels like she’s being held, but when she tries to open her eyes, she closes them again immediately against the sand flying all around her. The word “flying” pings through her head, but she knows she can’t do anything about her current situation, so she just wraps her arms protectively around her small bump and tries to relax.</p><p>She has no idea how much time passes when it begins to feel as though she is dropping. She wraps her arms closer still, curling her body inward. Suddenly, the sand drops away, but while she sees Beni and Evy drop somewhat unceremoniously to the sand, she’s lowered far more gently. She ends up on her knees, the last of the sandstorm that apparently brought them back here blowing her scarves off onto the sand and her tunic askew. She hears Evy say with dread, “Oh my God. We’re back.”</p><p>Out of nowhere, something strikes her face, and she cries out as she is knocked backwards, blinking and gasping in pain. Moments later, Imhotep hovers over her, and he drags her back to her feet as Evy yells at the monster to stop. He spins her and pokes at her tattoo. Then, he holds her near and hisses in Ancient Egyptian. “You dirty Medjai, I shall enjoy turning your daughter to worship me and me alone.”</p><p>He pushes her back down to her knees on the sand as she feels blood dripping down her face from where the skin split when he struck her. She’s about to respond when she hears the sound of an engine. It only takes seconds for her to realize that it’s a prop plane. She breathes out, “Ardeth,” even as Evy says O’Connell’s name and even as she realizes that Imhotep referred to her daughter.</p><p>Imhotep looks enraged, and he strides away. Evy comes to Layla’s side, and she helps her to her feet. “Layla, are you all right?” She steadies Layla and dabs at the blood on her face. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t know that you’re pregnant.”</p><p>“We didn’t tell anyone except Aziza and Terence, Dr. Bey, Evy. And I’m sorry for being so harsh the other day. I was just so upset and scared.” Layla shakes her head. She and Evy both look over at the monster in alarm when they hear his voice growing louder, and they both cry out in protest when he creates another sandstorm, this one aimed at the small plane they can now see.</p><p>As the plane clearly begins to struggle, Layla drops back to her knees, dizziness overtaking her. When she does, she realizes that neither Beni nor Imhotep bothered to check her for weapons. She files that thought away even as she squeezes her eyes shut and keeps her arms protectively around her body.</p><p>Suddenly, the noise stops, and Layla opens her eyes and is shocked to see Evy actually kissing Imhotep. She realizes, though, that it was just to distract him. The sandstorm ends, but she and Evy look on in horror as the small plane clearly crashes. Evy stumbles over to Layla, helping her back to her feet. The younger woman hugs her close and says, “They’ve survived this far. I’m certain they’ll manage to survive that as well.”</p><p>Evy steps back, and Layla straightens, ignoring the screaming pain in her head and cheek. Evy loops her arm through Layla’s, clearly sensing that the hit from Imhotep left her unsteady. Arm in arm, they walk behind Imhotep with Beni, gun in hand, bringing up the rear. As they get into the city, deep underground, at one point they pause, Evy letting Layla rest a moment.</p><p>Beni comes up behind them and gives Evy a shove. “Keep moving.”</p><p>At that, Evy glares at the small man. “You know, nasty little fellows such as yourself always get their comeuppance.”</p><p>Beni sneers. “Really.” Then he looks concerned. “They do?”</p><p>Evelyn nods. “Oh yes.”</p><p>She starts down the stairs, and Layla gives Beni a nasty look and says, “Always,” before following Evy, her dizziness slowly being replaced with what she can only think of as rage.</p><p>They get to a room where Imhotep ignores them as he clearly begins to prepare for the ritual to bring back Anck-Su-Namun. Evy and Layla lean against a far wall. Evy leans in and, in Italian, says, “Run when you get the chance, Layla. He’ll be pre-occupied with me. Please. They’re coming. O’Connell won’t quit.”</p><p>Layla shakes her head. “No, Evy, I will not leave you here with them.”</p><p>“Please, Layla.” Her eyes plead with Layla, but then the sound of a gunshot not too far away makes them all look up. Evy says, “O’Connell.”</p><p>Beni moves closer to Imhotep, and Evy pushes Layla behind them. Layla wants to fight Evy, but she knows it’s true that O’Connell is coming. She slips into the darkness, moving quickly back the way they came as she sees Imhotep blowing dust from a jar. She hears rather than sees the sounds of groaning, and it spurs her to break into a run. She hears shooting and yelling up ahead, and then there is an explosion.</p><p>Knowing it’s insane, she runs towards the sounds. As she rounds a corner, she hears another explosion, and a few moments later, she nearly runs headlong into O’Connell and Jonathan, Jonathan nearly dropping the gold book in his arms. “O’Connell, Jonathan!”</p><p>“Layla?” Jonathan stares at her. “Are you all right?”</p><p>“Yes, yes. I’ll have a black eye and a headache for a bit. Evy is that way,” she points back the way she came. “She’s fine for now, but that bastard is preparing for the resurrection ritual for Anck-Su-Namun.” She suddenly realizes something. “Where is Ardeth?”</p><p>O’Connell shakes his head. “He held off the mummies for us.” He looks more than a little upset. “There were a lot of them.”</p><p>Layla nearly collapses, but then she stands up straight. “Do you have any extra guns?”</p><p>O’Connell blinks, but then he looks at her with what she can tell is newfound respect. He pulls out two revolvers, and he spins them out to her, grip first. “It’s Rick, and they’re both fully loaded. Happy hunting, Layla.” He nods to her, grabbing another small torch from the wall, lighting it from his and passing it to her. She takes it, keeping the gun in that hand as well.</p><p>“Thank you. Now go. Save her, Rick.” She nods back. “Jonathan.” With that, she takes off down the hall, praying that she’ll find Ardeth in something close to one piece.</p><p>As she makes her way through the darkened passageways, she follows the sounds of fighting. When she hears a yell and the sound of a sword hitting stone, she knows she’s close. Moments later, she skids into a room. Ardeth is there, clearly exhausted and having taken a few hits, with the bodies of mummies littering the floor of the room, more than she can count. But he’s still fighting them off, twelve of those damned things left. She lights another torch on the wall and drops hers, yelling, “Ardeth, down!”</p><p>His eyes widen, but he complies. She starts firing, and while she can hear that a few shots miss, when the barrels of her two guns are empty, seven of the monsters are on the sand, dead (again). She then hurls the gun at the two mummies approaching her, even as Ardeth calls out to her, resuming his fight against the other three.</p><p>Layla leans down and pulls the large knife from her boot, and she swings out wide as the first one gets to her. She gasps as she manages to slice its head clean off, but its body still moves towards her. She spins and delivers a roundhouse kick to its torso, and it flies across the room, slamming into the wall.</p><p>The last one comes at her before she recovers, and it gets a bony hand on her neck, pushing her back against the wall. She stabs at it with her knife, but while she lands some blows, she can’t get enough leverage to slice it well. The hand on her neck tightens, and black spots dance before her eyes. She stabs at the thing again, but to no avail. Suddenly, though, a blade swings down and cuts off the thing’s arm, and she’s able to stab it square in the face, the creature falling back with a thud, her knife buried in its head. She gasps in much-needed air, and her vision clears.</p><p>Before she can say anything, Ardeth wraps her in a tight hug, his sword hitting the sand beneath their feet. “Are you all right?”</p><p>Layla drops her knife, clinging to him. “Mostly, yes.”</p><p>“Mostly?” He leans away, and his eyes land on the cut to her cheek. He scowls, and he leans back down, picking his sword up again.</p><p>She grabs his upper arms. “Stop. O’Connell will take care of your vengeance. He and Jonathan had the book, and they were on their way behind Evy, that Beni man, and the creature.” She holds him. “Please. I’d really like to leave this place now. If given a vote, I believe your daughter would like to go, too.”</p><p>He freezes. “Daughter?”</p><p>She shrugs, releasing him. “According to Imhotep. He may be a murderous, psychotic monster, but I sense that he’s right about this.”</p><p>He sheaths his sword, and he drops to his knees, surprising her. He hugs her to him, resting his head against her stomach. She runs her hands gently through his hair, and he murmurs, “Letting him take you was the single hardest thing I ever did, little one.”</p><p>“Then we have that in common. Going with him was the same, maybe second was watching that plane crash. I did not manage that well.” Tears come to her eyes again, and he stands, kissing her gently. He bends, getting her knife for her. As she takes it and returns it to its sheath, a tremor runs through the floor and the walls, and she looks up, her eyes locking on Ardeth’s in alarm.</p><p>Her torch from O’Connell lays extinguished in the sand, but Ardeth grabs the lit one from the wall. “We need to go. Something happened, but I’d prefer to be outside when we discover what it was.” Another tremor roars through the floor and walls as he speaks.</p><p>He takes her hand with his free hand, and they run from the room, finding a path that leads generally upward. He tows her with him as they go, and the adrenaline coursing through her propels her forward. “Do you think it’s the creature?” She asks as they move.</p><p>“I don’t know.” He shakes his head. “This seems like something different, though.” He steers them towards weak light that he sees ahead. They cut through a treasure room. Surrounded by gold, neither of them even look at anything other than the door at the other end. After what feels to her like a near eternity of running, they emerge into the hot, dry air of the desert afternoon.</p><p>Ardeth drops the torch as they run, putting some distance between themselves and the ruins. As a tremor ripples the sand beneath their feet, Layla trips. Instead of falling, though, she feels herself scooped up, and he carries her the last hundred feet or so, getting them clear. Instead of putting her down, he sinks down himself, sitting cross-legged on the sand for a few minutes, her cradled in his arm as they watch the city begin to disintegrate before them.</p><p>He shakes his head. “I definitely don’t think that is the creature. The whole place is sinking into the sand. Someone may have triggered a trap.”</p><p>“Agreed.” She scans the continuing destruction. “Where are the others? Have you seen them?”</p><p>“No, not even that little man who was with the creature.” He shakes his head again, then focuses on her for a moment. “Are you all right?”</p><p>She nods, and he gently places her next to him on the sand before standing up and then holding out his hands to pull her to her feet. “Thank you, little one. I’d gotten a lot of them, but I was fading in there with a lot of them left.”</p><p>She scoffs. “You even had to save me when I was there to save you, Ardeth.”</p><p>“You did save me.” He smirks. “I’m guessing from the pistols that you ran into O’Connell.”</p><p>She laughs. “Yes. I pointed him to Evy, and he pointed me to you, giving me the torch, the guns, and a wish for happy hunting.”</p><p>“I like him.” He says simply.</p><p>She smiles. “I do too, probably because he’s just an American, slightly less intense version of you, you know? All that earnest determination and willingness to die to protect.”</p><p>He lifts an eyebrow at her. “I think I’m going to choose to take that as a compliment.”</p><p>“It was meant as one.” She nods, then looks at the disintegrating city. “I hope they get out.”</p><p>“I do as well.” He drops a kiss to the drop of her head and then goes over to examine the camels. He sees that several are loaded down with water, and that one has a large bag of gold on it as well. He rolls his eyes, ignoring that one.</p><p>He finds a larger one they can use, and he’s leading it over to Layla when she says, “Look, Ardeth! It’s them!”</p><p>He looks where she is pointing, and he sighs in relief. O’Connell, Evelyn, and Jonathan are fleeing the city as it sinks into the sand. He mounts the camel, and he’s about to hold a hand out to Layla as she rushes forward, meeting Evy in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re all right,” Layla says. “I am sorry for abandoning you with him.”</p><p>Evy shakes her head. “Nonsense. I told you to. Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is –” She hesitates, her hand hovering.</p><p>Layla takes it, and she places it on her abdomen as she could tell Evy wanted to do. “She’s fine. We all are.”</p><p>“Thank God. I’m so happy for you, Layla, happy for you both.” Evy hugs her again.</p><p>A moment later, they jump apart at the sound of a shout, and then they both laugh. Jonathan is holding his chest, and Layla sees Ardeth on the camel, grinning. He obviously started Jonathan, who says, “Oh thank you, thank you very much.”</p><p>Layla squeezes Evy’s hand. “I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.” Then, she goes over to Ardeth. He taps the camel, and it lowers itself so that Layla can hop on in front of Ardeth.</p><p>The animal stands again, and Ardeth looks at O’Connell, who has been joined by Evy. He says, “You have earned the respect and gratitude of me and my people.”</p><p>Evy and O’Connell both smile and nod, but Jonathan grumbles, “Yes, well, it was nothing.”</p><p>Ardeth pulls her close, and he looks at O’Connell and Evy again. “May Allah smile upon you always.”</p><p>He touches his mouth and then his forehead in what Layla knows is meant as a blessing, and she snorts when Jonathan does a sort of imitation and says, “And yourself.” They begin to ride away, and Layla hears Jonathan say, “Yes, anytime.”</p><p>O’Connell calls, “Stay out of trouble.”</p><p>She hears Jonathan say, “He’s just leaving us here. Well, I guess we go home empty-handed. Again.”</p><p>Layla can’t hear O’Connell’s response, but she looks back in time to see O’Connell bend down and kiss Evy, who is clearly quite on board with it. She mutters, “Go, Evy!”</p><p>Her words make Ardeth look back, and he chuckles. “Took them long enough.”</p><p>“Where are we heading, Ardeth? Isn’t Cairo that way?” She points in a different direction than the one they are going.</p><p>He nods. “It is. But there is a tribal camp not far in this direction. I want the healers there to check on you and our daughter, little one. We can then get some rest before I take us home.”</p><p>She considers arguing, but she realizes that he’s right. She’d like to get checked over, and she is completely exhausted. She nods, relaxing against him, the rolling gait of their ride lulling her into a light sleep. Just over an hour later, she surprised but not when Aziza greets them at the camp. Ardeth helps Layla down, and then Aziza wraps her in a tight hug.</p><p>She then hustles them both into a tent, fussing over them. Another healer comes in, this one male, and he directs Ardeth behind a curtained area. Aziza then looks Layla over, clucking in disapproval. “What am I going to do with you, my little lily?”</p><p>Layla just shrugs tiredly, and she lets Aziza check her over, placing a cool compress on her bruised eye and examining her to check the baby. Once she’s satisfied that both Layla and the baby are all right, she directs her to another curtained area. There is a warm tub of water there, and Layla almost wilts in gratitude at the sight.</p><p>Some time later, Layla emerges, clean and far less achy and sore, dressed in loose pants and a flowing over dress. She’s still exhausted, though. She’s greeted by Ardeth, also now clean, with a few bandaged cuts here and there. He’s dressed similarly to her, and Aziza points to a bed in the corner of the tent. “Now, rest. Both of you. There will be a celebration tomorrow. You need to be well-rested for it. You needn’t emerge again until the morning. I’ll have dinner brought in for you later. Until then, little lily, if the baby needs food, there is a basket by the bed, as well as water.”</p><p>Ardeth looks like he’s about to argue, but Aziza holds up a hand, a firm expression on her face. “That wasn’t a request, young man. Listen to your aunt. Stay with your wife. Your work is done for the day.” Her expression softens. “Please. You both have earned the rest.” She places one hand on each of their faces, careful to avoid Layla’s bruised and cut cheek. “I’m very proud of you both, my children.”</p><p>At that, Ardeth relents. “Thank you, Aziza.”</p><p>Aziza leaves, and they go to the bed in the corner. When they get there, Layla immediately sits, cross-legged with the basket of food in her lap. Ardeth chuckles as she tears into the bread and cheese she finds there, and she glares at him. “Laugh all you want. I haven’t eaten since yesterday. I am starving.”</p><p>He just grins and hands her the water. Twenty minutes later, she feels much better, but the exhaustion is creeping back in. He pulls her necklace from his pocket, slipping it back over her head. Then, he leans back on the bed, and she curls up against him. She expects him to fight sleep, so she’s surprised when she realizes that he was the first to nod off. Echoing Aziza earlier, Layla pats her abdomen and whispers, “What are we going to do with your Papa, little girl?”</p><p>She then snuggles into him, resting her head on his shoulder. She falls asleep dreaming of a little girl with his strong features and green eyes, and she sighs happily, feeling completely safe, at least for today.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Everything Old is New Again</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Two become three and trouble returns.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Author’s Note: Sorry for the long wait, though I did warn that they would happen! Will truly to start into Mummy 2 in the next chapter, but there are two time jumps here, one of them a major one (but not before some fluffiness). For the record, I generally pretend that the third movie didn’t happen, just saying.</p><p>I hope I can get at least one more chapter out over the holidays, but no promises – once I get into the movie itself, I try to get the dialogue right when I do use it, so it’s slower going.</p><p>Disclaimer per usual – I do not own The Mummy, just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me. Starting with this chapter, I do borrow dialogue from the movie in patches, with minor variations.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Layla kicks off her boots, dropping her knife on the nightstand before she collapses into their bed, draping her arm across her eyes. They just returned to Cairo, and she has to admit that as much as they managed to sleep at the Medjai camp, the subsequent celebration of both the creature’s defeat and the pregnancy of the Chieftain’s wife was as exhausting as it was exuberant and joyful, though tinged with sadness at the death of Dr. Bey.</p><p>She’s grateful beyond words to be in their bed here, and she allows herself to sink into the soft mattress and pillows. Ardeth is taking care of the horses and the camel they brought back here, and Aziza is downstairs making them a light dinner. Layla isn’t hungry, but she feels like she could sleep for a week. She knows that’s as much about being pregnant as it is about the events of the last couple of weeks. Her body has been working overtime, and she knows it needs more rest.</p><p>She turns on her side, curling up in a small ball under the blanket, wondering if Ardeth or Aziza will come and try to wake her, or if they’ll just let her sleep. She gets that answer when she blinks her eyes open again. Her body feels heavy, weighed down, and she realizes that it’s because Ardeth is beside her, sound asleep, his arm across her body. She squints at the shuttered window, and she realizes that the dim light in the room is that of dawn, not dusk.</p><p>As comfortable as she is, she needs rather desperately to use the bathroom, and she’s starving after missing dinner last night. She tries her best to get up from the bed without waking Ardeth, but he stirs when she slips out from under his arm. He blinks at her, but she stands and leans down, pressing a kiss to his temple. “Sleep. You need it, too, and it’s barely dawn. I’ll be back later.”</p><p>He grumbles, but she’s happily surprised when he follows her direction, his eyes falling shut as he rolls onto her pillow. She shakes her head and goes to the bathroom, grabbing some clean clothes, soft pants and a top, from the drawer on her way. Once she uses the bathroom, she washes her hands and splashes water on her face. She then puts on the clean clothes and twists her hair up into a knot.</p><p>Barefoot, she pads out of the room, giving Ardeth one last fond look before heading down the stairs. Passing a clock, she sees that it’s not even six in the morning yet. She’s surprised but not when she gets downstairs – it’s still mostly dark and quiet, but when Layla gets to the kitchen, Aziza is there. She has tea ready, and there is a plate of fruit, flat bread, and cheese waiting for Layla.</p><p>“Oh, thank God,” Layla breathes out as her stomach growls, and Aziza laughs softly.</p><p>“How did you get my nephew to stay put?” Aziza asks the question quietly.</p><p>Layla gives Aziza a half-smile. “I think he’s as tired, if not more tired, than I was, but I doubt he’ll be far behind me, knowing him.” She motions to the food and tea. “Thank you for this, and for letting me sleep yesterday.”</p><p>“Ardeth wanted to wake you. He was fretting over you not eating.” Aziza makes a tsk-ing sound. “I told him to leave you be.”</p><p>Layla snorts. At Aziza’s questioning look, Layla explains, “I’m amused by the notion of my husband ‘fretting.’”</p><p>Aziza laughs again. “Oh, believe me little lily, he was fretting. You and that little baby you carry are the world to him, oaths and responsibilities aside.” She pauses. “He told me everything over dinner last night. You went with the monster?”</p><p>“What else was I to do, Aziza? We were cornered, and Imhotep wanted the baby, so he had to keep me alive.” She takes a sip of her tea. “It was horrible. I couldn’t see them after we walked away, but then the creature ordered the slaves to kill them – Ardeth, Dr. Bey, Mr. O’Connell, Jonathan. I yelled no at him, but then I heard screaming.” She swallows hard. “I didn’t know who it was, and all I can remember after that is that I blacked out.” Shaking her head, she adds, “I was relieved but then horrified when I realized it was Terence who died. Ardeth confirmed that for me.”</p><p>A tear courses down her cheek, and Aziza takes her hand. “I’m sorry, little lily. Had you become close?”</p><p>Layla sniffles a little. “As close as anyone got to Terence. He was like a gruff uncle.” She smiles weakly at Aziza’s soft laugh. “When I told him I am expecting, he was like a mother hen. He moved a sofa into my office to be sure I would rest enough. It was quite endearing. I will miss him greatly.” She sighs. “And I have no idea what will become of my job. Terence accepted me. Others likely will not. We’ll see. I may not even want it anymore without him there.”</p><p>“May not want what, little one?” Ardeth’s voice makes both of them jump. “Apologies. I did not intend to frighten you both.”</p><p>Layla takes a deep breath as she shakes her head, and Aziza rolls her eyes. “Nephew, I am going to make you wear a bell around your neck so you cannot sneak up on us.”</p><p>He chuckles, dropping into the chair next to Layla and pressing a kiss to her forehead. She looks up at him after noticing that he still wears what he’d been wearing in bed, a soft tunic and pants, but his hair has been combed. Ignoring his aunt, Ardeth asks Layla, “How are you and the littler lily this morning?”</p><p>Layla laughs and leans into him, letting him tug her close. “We are quite well, though she has driven me to consume a rather embarrassing amount of fruit and cheese.”</p><p>“She?” They look over at Aziza, whose eyebrows are raised in surprise.</p><p>As Ardeth places a protective hand on her growing bump, Layla replies, “If Imhotep is to be believed.” Layla shrugs lightly. “As I said to Ardeth, Imhotep may have been a murderous, psychotic monster, but I sense that he was right about this.”</p><p>Aziza observes them silently for a moment, long enough that Layla begins to feel concerned that Aziza is disappointed that she likely carries a daughter instead of a son, but then Aziza grins. “Aziza is a nice name.”</p><p>Ardeth rolls his eyes, and then he looks at Layla. “I thought maybe Zahra.”</p><p>Layla bites her lip. “For my mother?” At his nod, she swallows back tears and says, “What about Zahra Teresa? For my mother and for Terence?”</p><p>“He would be honored, little one. Our people will be as well.” He hugs Layla close, and then they hear a sniffle.</p><p>Layla looks at Aziza, who is dabbing at tears. It occurs to Layla that Aziza probably knew Terence most of her life. Layla starts to say something, but Aziza just waves her hand. “Oh, fine. That will do, as Zahra Aziza Teresa rhymes far too much to be acceptable.”</p><p>X X X X X X X X</p><p>
  <em>Seven Months Later</em>
</p><p>Layla startles awake, a bad dream making her sit up straight, the plane crashing with O’Connell, Jonathan, and Ardeth aboard, but this time with a more sinister outcome for all of them, the men dead and Layla and her child enslaved, Evy taken as Imhotep’s bride. She looks around the bedroom, and her brow furrows. It’s so quiet, and she is completely alone. It’s still dark out, but something feels off.</p><p>She shakes her head, then looks to Ardeth’s side of the bed. It’s empty, the sheets rumpled. She smooths her hand over them, and they are mostly cool to the touch. She then gasps softly, looking at the cradle on her side of the bed, and she sees that it’s also empty.</p><p>She forces herself to be calm, standing up and wrapping a shawl around her shoulders. She heads down the stairs, moving quietly, and when she gets to the main room, she sees that the door is open to the courtyard. Then, she hears it – singing. Soft words in Arabic, a song Ardeth taught her as he sang it to their daughter while she was still in Layla’s womb.</p><p>Layla moves to the open door, and she stops at the threshold, leaning against the frame. Ardeth is there, standing with their sleeping child cradled in one arm. His eyes are closed, and he’s swaying gently as he sings. Layla’s eyes fill with tears at the sight. She swallows hard, still upset to know that she almost missed this moment, that Ardeth almost ended up like her father.</p><p>Thinking back to her daughter’s birth several weeks ago, she shudders. Just as with her mother, Layla struggled giving birth, and after, she bled heavily. Luckily, things are better than they were nearly thirty years ago, and both Aziza and the nurse who Ardeth had been able to fetch from the hospital knew what to do. Layla had been in pain and sore for many days, but she’d made it through.</p><p>Shaking her head, she reminds herself that she’s here and healthy again, if not tired from all the late-night feedings. She’s been grateful, too, that the interest is Hamunaptra has declined significantly of late, and Ardeth has been a near constant-companion since they returned to Cairo after defeating the creature. He still goes out to visit the tribes, but he doesn’t have to be there as often right now.</p><p>He actually spent much of the last several months helping at the Museum. Despite her reservations, Layla has continued her work with the Museum. Local authorities and patrons refused to let the Bembridge Scholars place the lead Curator. They instead chose a kind, older man who, like her, is half-American and half-Egyptian. He told her when he arrived that he approved of the work she’d been doing and had no desire to interfere. He has been a quiet but fierce ally, and that has helped her ramp up her scrutiny on applications for digs and placements on dig teams.</p><p>While Layla did that work, Ardeth and several of his Medjai warriors came and did almost all of the repair work needed at the Museum. It had taken weeks, but the Museum is now good as new. Since then, when he wasn’t out visiting the tribes, Ardeth has either been working on things here at their home or her shadow at the Museum. On those latter days, she’ll return from a meeting with the Curator to find him on her office sofa, reading through books he finds in the library. She was oddly charmed by the fact that many of them were books on the history of America, his explanation being that his daughter would be one-quarter American and it wouldn’t do for him not to understand her heritage.</p><p>As if on cue, as Layla has that thought, the baby begins to fuss a little. Ardeth opens his eyes and looks down at her, and Layla smiles at the adoration on his face. Ardeth nearly worships their daughter.</p><p>He turns to come inside, and Layla laughs softly at the surprise on his face when he sees her standing there. He comes to her side, gesturing to the soft sofa in the living area. As they move towards it, he quietly says, “And Aziza thinks that I am the one who needs to wear a bell.”</p><p>Layla settles on the sofa and holds her arms out. He hands her the baby, and she adjusts her nightgown to allow the little one to latch onto her breast. “I rather think, Baba, that you were just a bit distracted.”</p><p>He nods, placing one hand on the baby and pulling close to Layla with an arm around her shoulders. “Our little Zahra is definitely distracting.” The baby blinks her still-light eyes up at them, the black hair already fluffy on her tiny head. Ardeth insists that her eyes will be green like Layla’s. She thinks he’s right, but she secretly hopes they’ll turn the soft brown of his.</p><p>Layla is still surprised with how comfortable he is with sitting with her while she feeds the baby, changing her diapers, bathing her. When she’d commented on it, he’d just said that in his camp, everyone helped with the little ones, even future chieftains.</p><p>He is so good with Zahra that it makes Layla sad that the doctor, nurses, and Aziza have all been very firm that she very likely cannot manage any more children, that it would threaten her life. The nurse already gave her a device they can use to prevent pregnancy, and she also has an acacia and honey tea used by the Medjai as a contraceptive as well. The doctor actually doubts that she can conceive again, though, opining that she may have had some interior damage from labor.</p><p>It bothers her and worries her that Ardeth will be upset by it, be unsatisfied with just one child, and a girl at that. She jumps a little when he says, “What are you thinking about, little one?” He runs a soothing hand through her hair.</p><p>“How sorry I am.” He gives her a strange look, and she explains, “That I cannot give you any more children. That I cannot give you a son.”</p><p>He frowns. “Layla.” He rarely uses her name when they’re alone, and it makes her look up at him in surprise. “You and Zahra are more than I really hoped to have. I do not need or even want anything more. You two are more than enough.”</p><p>“But what about the tribes, Ardeth? Don’t they expect an heir?” Her voice is small and sad in a way she doesn’t like.</p><p>He cups her cheek with his palm. “Layla, maybe that’s what they hope for, but I have many capable seconds, and to be clear, I would not be the first Chieftain of the Medjai to have only daughters or a daughter. Leadership can pass to another part of the family or to another family entirely if needed. Or maybe even to our daughter. Who knows?” He gives her a wry smile. “It’s not the Tudor English Monarchy, little one.” He gently tilts her face up to his, kissing her briefly. “I would not trade the two of you for anything. Understood?”</p><p>She nods, offering what she knows is a watery smile. “Understood.” She shrugs, causing Zahra to snuffle a little in protest. They both laugh quietly as the baby settles again. “I wouldn’t trade you either, you know.”</p><p>He leans in and kisses her again. “I’m quite glad to hear that.”</p><p>She smirks. “It’s also inexplicably sexy that you can easily make accurate references to Tudor England.”</p><p>He chuckles at that. They both go quiet, but then Ardeth says, “Do you think the O’Connells are settling in back in London?”</p><p>Layla nods. “Yes. I got a cable from Evy yesterday. Rick is driving her crazy. Poor thing still has three months to go, and apparently, he hovers with far less subtlety than you did.”</p><p>He snorts. “I can imagine. He’s not a subtle man. Arguably, though, you and I seem a little less like opposites attracting than Evelyn and O’Connell.”</p><p>She leans into him. “Agreed.” She sighs. “I’ll miss Evy, despite the fact that she -” She pauses.</p><p>Ardeth laughs and says, “Nearly brought about the apocalypse?”</p><p>“Yes, that. But it would be nice to have our children grow up together.” She smirks up at him. “Can you imagine how much trouble they’d get into?”</p><p>With that thought, they settle into the sofa further, letting Zahra finish her late night (or maybe early morning) feed. When she finishes, it’s Ardeth who is able to coax a burp, something he’s been more adept at from the start. He offers to change Zahra’s diaper, so Layla lets him, following him back upstairs and collapsing into bed as he changes Zahra.</p><p>Once the baby is settled back in her crib, sound asleep with one fist clutching a tiny stuffed camel gifted to her by Evy and Rick before they left, Layla puts a hand on her little head, still amazed that this tiny person came from her and Ardeth. He slips into bed behind her, scooting over to be able to wrap his arms around her waist and pressing a kiss to her neck. She thinks he might have already fallen asleep when he softly says, “Thank you, little one. Thank you for this life we have together.”</p><p>Layla snuggles back into him. After a quiet moment, she starts to say something, but then she realizes that this time he really is asleep. She huffs out a light breath, and she lets sleep take her.</p><p>X X X X X X X</p><p>
  <em>Eight Years Later</em>
</p><p>Layla is working at her desk at the Museum in Cairo, where she is now the Deputy Curator, second in command to the Curator and still in charge of expeditions, digs, and acquisitions for the Museum. She and the Curator, the man who took over after Terence perished at the hands of the slaves of Imhotep, have all but excluded the Bembridge Scholars and their condescending ilk from any sway over decisions.</p><p>Even Evy has distanced herself from them. She has established herself both as a capable Egyptologist and field archeologist, though Layla likes to complain to Ardeth that if she gets gray hair early, it’ll likely have to do with an O’Connell or a Carnahan. Layla laughs to herself. Poor Rick, he just follows Evy around trying to get her to stop being so aggressive in her search for new information or sites.</p><p>With a sigh, Layla sets aside the report she was compiling, notes from the last few digs she’s heard about on the Nile. She fears that one in particular has Evy’s stamp all over it. Her friend is dedicated, but she’s also become a maverick of sorts.</p><p>Layla rises and puts her things in her bag. She heads out of the Museum, ready to have a weekend at home. Ardeth is due in late tonight, but she fears he may not come, as they’ve heard consistent rumors regarding a group of Imhotep worshippers trying to raise the creature yet again. Layla shakes her head as she gets to the stables.</p><p>Many people in Cairo have started driving cars regularly, but Layla prefers her horse, a beautiful chestnut brown Baladi mare that Ardeth brought her in from the desert three years ago. Layla saddles her and mounts, soothing her, “Shhh, Dina, home please.”</p><p>The horse trots out of the stable, and Layla picks her way carefully home. She knows she may have to get a car and driver sooner rather than later, something Ardeth has made clear he wants no part of; he can probably count on one hand the number of times he’s been in a car since leaving England after his family died, two of those with Rick and Jonathan (and others).</p><p>She smiles, thinking about Aziza and Zahra, who will already be home, likely with Zahra trying to goad Aziza into making crêpes or a soufflé, something she might’ve learned at her school, a French girls school here in Cairo, Collège De La Mère De Dieu. Neither she nor Ardeth was willing to send Zahra to a boarding school, but they also wanted her grounded in the basics and taught languages.</p><p>She’s a very bright girl, and it’s important to Layla that she get all the opportunities she wants – so they deal with it being a Catholic school (when neither of them are Catholic, though Layla’s American family was). Layla’s position in the Museum and the fact that she, Ardeth, and several of the Medjai elders regularly teach the girls about the local people of Egypt have won them favor with the surprisingly diverse school.</p><p>So, her daughter, 8 1/2, can speak French, English, Arabic, Italian, and no small amount of Spanish and German. It amuses her to no end when Zahra badgers her to teach her new words in Spanish or German, sometimes even in the smattering of Japanese that Layla can recall. Aziza has learned French from Zahra now, though it was Layla who taught Aziza to swear in French, something that makes Ardeth roll his eyes.</p><p>Her little girl is also athletic, tall for her age, but willowy and quick. Layla and Ardeth have both spent time teaching her self-defense and even some offensive fighting moves. Layla insists to Ardeth that she’ll be damned if she raises a daughter who cannot defend herself. As a Medjai, he is completely on board with that notion, though most of the women of the tribes are not fighters.</p><p>As Layla gets home, she steers Dina into the stable, dismounting smoothly as the horse stops. She nearly jumps a foot in the air when a hand touches her arm, and she spins to a defensive position. She relaxes and huffs out a breath when she sees Ardeth standing there, hands on his hips and an amused expression on his face. His bag is on the ground with the headdress he wears to ride long distances, and he’s quite dusty, leading Layla to guess that he just arrived, too.</p><p>Layla mutters a curse in Arabic, making him laugh out loud as he steps up to her and kisses her soundly, backing her into the wall of the stable. It’s been weeks since she last saw him, and as usual, they pretty enthusiastically show each other how much they were missed. When they finally pull apart, she says somewhat breathlessly, “I thought you weren’t due in until late tonight.”</p><p>He gives her a funny look, and then he moves to unsaddle Dina. Layla drops her bag and grabs a brush, using it on the horse. After Ardeth puts the saddle away, he puts down some feed and water for the animal. “All right, Nuri, are you done avoiding acknowledging what I said?”</p><p>He looks a little ill. “The creature has been found, and he has been transported away from the destroyed Hamunaptra site.”</p><p>“What?” Layla shakes her head, feeling to color drain from her face.</p><p>He walks over to her. “Yes, he’s been pulled from the ground. But he hasn’t been revived as yet, from what we can tell. And there’s something else.”</p><p>“There’s more? That isn’t enough?” She scowls.</p><p>He snorts. “The O’Connells may have made a mess again.”</p><p>“Damn it. Are you kidding me?” Layla’s scowl deepens. “My last letter from Evy was cagey. I’d asked her about her next trip here, and she was very vague in her reply. And a report of a disastrous event at one of the temples down the Nile made me wonder.”</p><p>“They’re already on their way home, as I understand it.” Ardeth shrugs, picking up his headdress, her bag and his as she finishes with the horse. “To be fair, it’s not entirely their fault. But the other things at play are quite worrisome.”</p><p>She looks up at him. “You think it’s all related.”</p><p>He nods. “I do. Come on, little one, Zahra and Aziza have probably made dinner. We’ll talk more tonight. Suffice to say, we likely have to go to England if the rumors I hear are to be trusted.”</p><p>As they walk to the house, he takes her hand, entwining their fingers. “I should have known something was going on when I heard they were here but realized they didn’t even try to visit.”</p><p>“I wonder if they had Alex with them.” Layla knows that Evy and Rick often bring Alex with them when they travel, knowing there is value in experiences as opposed to pure classroom learning. They do the same with Zahra, who has spent significant time with the desert tribes and has even gone to Europe with Layla more than once.</p><p>“My scouts reported a small, blonde child, so yes, I think they did,” Ardeth replies.</p><p>“Zahra will be disappointed.” The children have spent time together on and off since they were toddlers. According to Rick, Alex is bold and brash except with Zahra, who he tends to follow with minimal questioning.</p><p>“By what?” Aziza appears at the door to the house.</p><p>“Not seeing Alex O’Connell; we think they were just here for a quick trip.” Layla responds.</p><p>Ardeth nods. He’s about to ask Aziza if she can look after Zahra while they go to London when a black-haired blur streaks in. “Baba!” Zahra slams into Ardeth, making Aziza and Layla laugh as he staggers slightly but then picks her up.</p><p>As big as she is getting, he’s the only one who can easily lift her anymore, and she wraps her little legs and arms around him, clinging on. It doesn’t bother Layla at all that Zahra is very much her baba’s girl, because she’s a sweet, smart child who misses her father terribly when he’s not here. Layla gets far more time with Zahra, so when father and daughter are together, it warms Layla’s heart.</p><p>She watches as he hugs their daughter close, murmuring, “I missed you, my Ameera.” He calls her his princess, something unlikely from her sometimes gruff husband, but he has done so since she was tiny.</p><p>After a few moments, he lowers her to the ground. He grins as Zahra starts telling him about her recent school project in rapid-fire French (which he thankfully understands), her hazel eyes flashing with excitement. Depending on what colors she wears, Zahra’s eyes can look green or brown, an interesting combination of her eyes and Ardeth’s. Her eye shape and bone structure are all Ardeth – strong cheekbones and jawline, but she has Layla’s mouth and nose, and she is willowy like Layla.</p><p>Like both of them, her skin is olive and her hair black and wavy, and she wears it long like Layla’s. She looks every inch the mostly-Egyptian girl that she is, another early hurdle with her school. It was quickly cleared by a surprisingly progressive Mother Superior at the school. Layla later learned that the woman is one-quarter Egyptian herself.</p><p>They head inside, and Layla and Zahra get dinner on the table as Aziza herds her nephew towards the stairs to change out of his dusty clothes. Ten minutes later, they sit down to eat. Zahra sits between her and Aziza as usual, Ardeth taking the chair next to Layla, and she hooks her foot around his ankle, making him swallow a smile.</p><p>They spend much of the meal talking about Zahra’s latest projects and subjects at school, but halfway through dinner, Aziza says, “So, I will leave day after tomorrow to go do more medical training at several of the tribes, and I will return in two weeks, remember?”</p><p>“And my school has fall break next week!” Zahra announces happily, bouncing in her seat.</p><p>Layla’s eyes widen and she looks at Ardeth. Aziza notices. “What’s wrong, little lily?”</p><p>“Something came up today; I’d forgotten about both.” She exchanges a look with Ardeth. He shakes his head lightly, and she nods, adding, “We’ll sort it out.”</p><p>After dinner, Ardeth and Layla insist on cleaning up while Aziza gets Zahra up to her room to do homework for school tomorrow. As Layla rinses the plates, she looks at Ardeth. “I want to come with you.”</p><p>“I know, little one, but I don’t know if we can bring Zahra for this, and without Aziza, we cannot leave her here.” He pauses. “And I was hoping to go tomorrow, so we can’t take her out to the nearest tribe, either.” He puts a plate down and dries his hands on a towel. “But I don’t want to leave you two here alone. If those cultists are trying to revive Imhotep, I fear he may try to seek out the two of you.” He looks at her. “Do you still have the nightmares?”</p><p>She shivers at his mention of the dreams that still occasionally wake her in the middle of the night. “Sometimes.”</p><p>He steps in front of her, wrapping her up in his arms. “As do I.” When she was pregnant, after Imhotep, he was awakened as often as she was by the dreams, dreams where they weren’t able to stop Imhotep, where he was held captive until the baby was born and then forced to watch Imhotep kill Layla. “They hadn’t happened as much for a while, but –”</p><p>She burrows into him and whispers, “But they’ve been more frequent lately.”</p><p>He leans away enough to see her. “Yes.” He swallows hard. “It may be that the cultists are getting close. His influence isn’t well silenced by the grave, I fear.”</p><p>She nods against him. “We should come with you, Nuri. Both of us. I know there’s risk, but I don’t want us to be separated. Please.”</p><p>He frowns, his mind racing, and he realizes that she’s right. He wants them with him. They don’t know what they’re facing, but he knows they’ll do better facing them together. All he really has to go on is a picture of a man, and knowledge that he is involved with people from the O’Connell’s skirmish at the temple. They know that and that a woman was leading them.</p><p>The next day, they bid good-bye to Aziza, assuring her that everything is, or at least will be, fine. Zahra is bouncing with excitement. She’s been with Layla on Museum-related trips to Italy, France, and Spain, but she’s never been to England. It’s fall there, so she has the few warm sweaters Zahra owns in the one bag of clothes they’re bringing, along with a coat she found on a quick trip to the markets this morning.</p><p>She’d also called in a favor from an old friend of her father’s, and they’re boarding a private plane. She knew she wouldn’t be able to book them quickly enough, and she’d tried to picture getting a commercial flight with Ardeth’s various swords and weapons and her dagger in her boot. She laughs softly at the thought, and Ardeth sits in the seat next to her after settling Zahra in a seat by a window.</p><p>He’s clearly tense, and he lifts an eyebrow at her. She shrugs. “Just glad my father’s friend needed to go to London. I was trying to figure out how we could have gotten all the weapons on a non-private flight.” He smiles faintly, one hand gripping the armrest between them. “Ardeth, how many times have you flown?” She wraps her hand around his.</p><p>“Once.” He gives her a pointed look. “When I went to school in England, I traveled by ship.”</p><p>“Oh dear.” She gives him a sympathetic look. “Well, hopefully no sandstorms this time.”</p><p>“And at least I’m not strapped to a wing, though I will say I managed that with more dignity than Mr. Carnahan.” He smiles wryly.</p><p>“That was likely a low bar to clear, Ardeth.” She laughs at the thought. “Jonathan isn’t exactly known for his calm in the face of challenge.” He grips her hand tight even as he laughs. She squeezes it with hers. “Just hold my hand. It’s going to be fine.”</p><p>He looks vaguely embarrassed, but then he leans over and drops a kiss to her temple. “Thank you, little one.”</p><p>The better part of a day and a couple of stops later, they land at an airfield outside of London. It’s already nighttime, darkness falling quickly, along with the temperatures. As Layla puts her own cloak on, Ardeth, already wrapped in his heavy cloak, helps Zahra with her coat. Layla comes over and puts a little woolen hat on her head, and Zahra smiles up at them in excitement, her little cheeks red in the air so much colder than what she’s used to.</p><p>There’s a hired taxi waiting for them, and Layla gives them the address of the O’Connell home. The driver looks impressed, and when they arrive, they understand why. The house is a manor, no other word for it. It’s very large with significant land around it.</p><p>Ardeth peers up at it. “This is more impressive than I expected. Evelyn must come from means?”</p><p>Layla nods. “Jonathan squandered his inheritances and the treasure they brought home from Hamunaptra, but I’m fairly sure that Rick and Evy are more thoughtful with their funds.”</p><p>They’re about to approach the front, when Ardeth stops Layla with a hand on her arm. He points to two matching cars haphazardly parked at the back entrance to the home and the man dressed in red and black, clearly standing guard. They are still by a large fountain in the yard, and Ardeth crouches down to look at Zahra while Layla digs into the bag.</p><p>She puts her dagger on her ankle and pulls a small sword from Ardeth’s bag and slips it into a sheath that she attaches to her belt. She’s glad she’s also wearing dark clothes, black flowing pants and a fitted dark burgundy long-sleeved top, both that will blend in. Her cloak is lightweight and black, just like Ardeth’s.</p><p>As she prepares, she hears Ardeth say to Zahra, “Ameera, we need you to take our bag and get behind the fountain. You need to hide. Can you do that for us?”</p><p>Zahra’s eyes widen. Layla crouches down next to Ardeth. “Can you be brave, my beautiful girl?”</p><p>“Yes, Mama, Baba. I can hide. Who can I come out for?” Their normally willful girl knows the ways of the Medjai. She has been taught from an early age that if they tell her to hide, they mean it. Being the only child of the Medjai chieftain is no small vulnerability.</p><p>“Me, Baba, Uncle Rick, Aunt Evy, Alex, or Uncle Jon. No one else, love. Hide until then.” Layla smooths the girl’s hair back as Ardeth stands.</p><p>“Yes, Mama.” She grabs the suitcase and Ardeth’s bag and quietly drags them behind the fountain as Layla stands.</p><p>When they both see her disappear behind the short structure, Layla sighs. As they carefully move towards the house, Ardeth nods and says softly, “I wish we hadn’t needed to teach her such things either, little one.” Layla has now gone on some trips with Ardeth, learned their processes for protecting sites, so she falls in with him easily. The way they read each other now helps them move well together.</p><p>Layla reaches for his hand, squeezing it with hers. They stop, shielding themselves with the wall of the home. He points at the guard, and she nods. He then moves silently, going up to the guard and rendering the man unconscious with one quick blow.</p><p>He drags the man to where Layla is, and she takes the man’s sword and tosses it away from them before also taking his gun and tucking it into her belt, under her cloak. Ardeth binds the man with his own belt, and then they quietly move to the back door, which stands slightly open.</p><p>As they enter, they hear a deep voice say, “Good evening.”</p><p>Layla exchanges a look with Ardeth as they hear Evy reply, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”</p><p>The deep voice says that he’s looking for the chest and ordering her to give it to him. Then, Layla rolls her eyes when she hears the sound of a sword and Evy saying, “Get out of my house.”</p><p>They keep moving into the house as they hear more movement and Alex’s little voice say, “Whoa, Mom. Maybe not the best idea.” Then there is a further exchange, and Layla has to swallow a snort as she moves close behind Ardeth and hears Alex say, “I think it’s time to yell for Dad now.”</p><p>Just as they enter the room, a man comes into Layla’s view. Ardeth tenses, so she knows he recognizes the man, who says, “Now I will kill you and take it anyway.”</p><p>“I think not,” Ardeth says as they enter, him moving to one side of Evy and Layla staying near Alex, who holds a large box. All of the men pull their swords.</p><p>“Ardeth, Layla? What are you doing here?” Evy is clearly stunned by their appearance.</p><p>Ardeth says calmly, “Perhaps explanations are best kept for later.”</p><p>Then, he looks at the large man, clearly the leader, who says, “Ardeth Bay.”</p><p>Ardeth nods slightly. “Lock-Nah.”</p><p>Layla hears noise from upstairs just as the large man and his followers yell in Arabic, and the fight begins, both she and Ardeth tossing their cloaks off. Layla pulls the sword and her dagger, and she keeps the men away from Alex. Evy moves like a woman possessed, and Ardeth fights off several of them. Layla’s hackles rise when the man says derisively, “Not bad for a Medjai,” an insulting lilt on the word Medjai.</p><p>As they fight, Ardeth yells, “What’s in the chest?”</p><p>Evy yells back, “The bracelet of Anubis!”</p><p>Ardeth replies, “They must not get the bracelet. Get it and get out of here!”</p><p>Evy turns, and Alex puts the box down and tries to knock over a bookshelf on a man going after Evy. Layla slices at the man she was keeping away from Alex. The man falls, and she turns and helps Alex, the shelf crashing down on the man. Evy picks up the box, but as she does, more men come in, pushing Layla hard into the wall. She’s a little dazed when she hears Alex yell for Evy and Ardeth say, “Evelyn!”</p><p>She tries to stop the men from taking Evy, but she only trips a couple of them, one of whom backhands her into the wall again. She looks over at Ardeth in time to see him dodge a knife from the man called Lock-Nah.</p><p>Alex runs to her, clinging on as she wraps her arms around him. “Aunt Layla, they took my mom! Are you OK? We have to stop them!”</p><p>“I’m alright, sweetheart.” Ardeth comes over. She can see that his shoulder is bleeding. “Ardeth, are you alright?”</p><p>“It’s fine. Come, we need to find O’Connell.” Ardeth holds out his hand, and he pulls her upright, even as Alex hangs on. “We’ll get your mother back, Alex.”</p><p>Alex sniffles a little, and then he nods, standing. “OK. Thanks, Uncle Ardeth.”</p><p>He nods, and they all hear more noise, clearly gunshots, and even as Alex yells for his dad, Ardeth and Layla say in unison, “Rick.”</p><p>They run outside as a crash sounds, and they see Rick and Jonathan duck some gunfire and then Rick yelling for Evy, who he must see in the back of one of the two cars speeding away. Layla, Alex, and Ardeth run to Rick and Jonathan. Alex gets there first, calling, “Dad! Dad!”</p><p>Rick picks his son up as Ardeth gets there, Layla veering over to motion Zahra out of hiding. As she does, she hears Rick yelling as he grabs Ardeth and pushes him against a statue. Before Layla can admonish him, Zahra runs over. “Uncle Rick, you leave my baba alone. We came to help you!”</p><p>Rick mumbles an apology and asks where they might be taking Evy. Layla and Ardeth exchange a look, and Ardeth pulls out the picture his scouts had gotten him. “My friend, I’m not sure, but wherever this man is, your wife will surely be.”</p><p>Over the next few moments they establish that Evy is likely at the British Museum and that in fact Alex has the bracelet on. At that revelation, Ardeth takes Alex’s arm and looks at him seriously. “By putting this on, you have started a chain reaction that could bring about the next apocalypse.”</p><p>Layla nearly rolls her eyes. Her husband is sometimes too earnest for his own good. Rick may feel the same, because to Ardeth, Alex, and Jonathan, respectively, he says, “You, lighten up. You, big trouble. You, get in the car.”</p><p>He then opens the back door. He says, “Layla, little Z,” and motions them in.</p><p>Zahra hugs his legs before climbing in the back with Jonathan and Alex, but Layla pauses, hugging Rick and dropping a kiss to his cheek. “We’ll get her back, Rick.”</p><p>He gives her a grateful look and nods before helping her into the car and closing the door behind her. Ardeth shoots her a soft smile as they start to move, and she settles Zahra in her lap in the tight back seat. In the front, Ardeth looks at Rick. “I am sorry if I alarmed your son, but you must understand. Now that the bracelet is on his wrist, we have only seven days before the Scorpion King awakens.”</p><p>In the back, Layla feels ill again. “It’s the Year of the Scorpion.”</p><p>Ardeth nods at her as Rick says, “We? What we?”</p><p>Layla says, “If he is not killed, he will raise the Army of Anubis, Rick.”</p><p>Jonathan leans forward. “I take it that’s not a good thing.”</p><p>“Oh, he’ll wipe out the world.” Rick says sarcastically.</p><p>Layla can’t help but snort when Jonathan leans back, saying, “Oh, the old ‘wipe out the world’ ploy.”</p><p>Ardeth clearly has to swallow a wry smile as he glances at Layla and then turns back to Rick. “Whomever can kill the Scorpion King can send his army back to the Underworld, or use it to destroy mankind and rule the Earth.”</p><p>“That’s why they dug up Imhotep. He’s the only guy tough enough to take out the Scorpion King.” Rick just sounds resigned, now.</p><p>Ardeth nods. “That is their plan.”</p><p>As they tear into London, Layla looks at Zahra and then Alex, and she realizes that they both look completely terrified, though Alex in particular is trying to hide it. Layla wraps one arm around her daughter and the other around Alex. “It’ll be alright, my loves. We’ll get Evy back, get that bracelet off of you, Alex, and we’ll all be safe.”</p><p>Alex doesn’t say anything, but he burrows into her side. Zahra does the same on her other side, and she holds onto them both all the way into London.</p>
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